A panel of top scientists has been appointed to advise a federal commission examining the collapse of sockeye salmon stocks in the Fraser River.
Cohen Commission senior lawyer Brian Wallace says the blue ribbon panel includes scientists from Simon Fraser University, the Universities of B.C. and Washington and the Pacific Salmon Foundation.
Wallace says the scientists will offer important advice to the commission's science research team, led by David Levy, a salmon biologist with over 30 years' experience in the Fraser watershed.
The Cohen Commission was formed last November when B.C. Supreme Court Judge Bruce Cohen was named to lead the inquiry.
It will hold hearings to investigate declining sockeye salmon in B.C.'s largest river and will make recommendations to improve the sustainability of the fishery, as well as any required overhaul of the Fisheries Department's policies or procedures.
Twenty people and groups, including the B.C. and federal governments, First Nations, environmental organizations and fisheries unions have been granted permission to call and question witnesses, but hearings have not yet been scheduled.
