Some fish bait can harm juvenile salmon, ODFW research finds

This news is breaking all over the Northwest.

Some popular fishing baits cured with sodium sulfite are harmful to juvenile salmon and steelhead, research by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Oregon State University scientists has found.

LINK (Via: The Caddis Fly:Oregon Fly Fishing Blog)

 You can read the research here.

Comments

[AC]

So when they say they've found "the cure"... they really mean they've found the cause!!! BASTARDS...

[flybug.pa.]

who will be the first to file suit? more importantly who is going to enforce it , there is alot of remote water and little law .... I would be a victory to see the stuff pulled from shelves and other retail.wholesale outlets .

[Rob Russell]

So far, it looks as if the first lawsuits will be filed by manufacturers against ODFW. They are crying foul and making lots of threats.

In general, I have no mercy for polluters. In this case, I have to look in the mirror and recognize that I have also been guilty of knowingly polluting my favorite rivers with this crap for decades.

It's easy to pass the buck, but we'll all be better off focusing on solutions instead of pointing fingers. There is zero data to support the idea that fish or rivers have been measurably harmed by these cures. And we are unlikely to see further data on the subject due to a lack of funds or interest. As Ed Bowles says, we all just need to adjust and move on.

Instead of lawsuits, we need to pressure the EPA and DEQ to ban these substances from commercially available cures. There is already an effort underway, but the more people who apply pressure, the more likely we are to see a result.