Alex Morton's investigations into salmon

Alexandra Morton is investigating the state of the Fraser Sockeye salmon. She has learned quite a bit lately. I did an interview with her which is now published in Alternatives Magazine - published by the Univ. of Waterloo. http://www.alternativesjournal.ca/articles/the-unsinkable-scientist

Here is her latest: 

Below is a link to my blog on the last 1000km tracking the European salmon viruses.  Our effort to sample wild salmon the length of the BC coast, deep into the Fraser watershed and many other places has given us the opportunity to look closely at hundreds of salmon. Each one has a story etched into it from it life's journey.  These fish are supreme athletes.  I have posted some of the things we are seeing.

I have met so many wonderful people who have enormous understanding about the salmon near them and I am deeply grateful for their time and expertise.  Each community tells us about another place we should visit and so we set a course and go wherever possible. Others are doing the sampling themselves.

http://alexandramorton.typepad.com/alexandra_morton/2012/08/reading-the-fish.html 

If you want to get involved please contact me at this address if you are seeing die-offs, yellow salmon, or anything else that concerns you. I can't promise that we can visit your area, but we will do what we can.

You can also donate seriously needed funds as we try to keep cars running, keeping ourselves going and paying the labs http://www.gofundme.com/SalmonDiseaseTestingFund If you need a tax receipt please contact me.

Overall, there is a lot of concern this year about salmon that are not showing up as expected.  There is prespawn mortality that people have been told is normal, but I am not sure we know what "normal" is anymore.  When I look at a beautiful salmon lying dead full of eggs I just want to know why.  We are still not allowed to work with the Genomic profiling lab at DFO, which is a real shame because the testimony by Dr. Miller at the Cohen Commission was astonishing.  Genomic profiling is like being able to speak to a fish and ask  - So tell me what you are up against.

I feel we need a private lab that we can all use, end the era of secrecy around diseases in wild salmon and connect everyone working with wild salmon so we understand what the fish are experiencing as they make their epic journy.

Onward,

alex