After pressure from the Polish Ministry of Maritime Economy on the Polish scientific community to present results indicating that “there is plenty of cod in the sea”, science and deputy director of MIR, PhD Zbigniew Karnicki, resigns from his duties in protest against the Polish government.
In an open letter to the public Dr Karnicki explains how the minister of Maritime Economy, Marek Grobarczyk is threatening the independence of Polish Scientific research. “M Grobarczyk believes that MIR, and its science director in particular should, when formulating his opinions, take into consideration the position of the fishery community. In summary, MIR scientists, often prominent experts with international reputation, should present the opinion that “there is plenty of cod in the sea” and not publicize the results of independent cod resource research carried out in cooperation with all Baltic countries, which show just the opposite. Apart from this, we should assure that breaching the basic principles of the common fisheries policy of the European Union will not have negative consequences for Polish fishery, which definitely has little to do with the truth”, says Dr Karnicki in his letter.
The full letter can be downloaded below.