Lead ban coming
 

Been getting a lot of emails regarding a public comment on banning lead for fishing. This would increase the cost of our fishing addiction, at least as far as lead is concerned probably three fold.
More info here.

http://capwiz.com/keepamericafishing...9&ctb=16355526


Thanks

i have emailed all our officials stating my disapproval

what are the agents gonna do
saw my plugs in half to check them?

What will happen is that your lead weights won't be sold a tackle shops or fishing suppliers any more.
At that point, the price of your lead used will go up.
Any weight in a tackle shop will be some sort of titanium or something like that. big bucks.
thanks for sending those emails.

Doesn't lead have to be ingested? This nanny state BS is driving me nuts, I mean come on how long are humans supposed to live anyway. I wonder if they will ever get around to the effect rubber has on the environment, think about it, where does all the rubber from the wear on a vehicles tires go? Why are there people who get lung cancer that never smoked and yet there are people who have smoked most of their lives and yet some live too a ripe old age and never get lung cancer? Could it be a cross link? For example if you eat onions and smoke tobacco that causes cancer...hmmm maybe it's not the tobacco maybe it's the rubber being inhaled from tire wear or something else. How many times have there been things that were said to be bad for you at one time only to later be discovered they are not so bad. I still feel like we are in the age of snake oil and believe it will take generations before we really know for sure what is good or bad.

Its all about the ducks and birds ingesting the lead from what I read a while ago.
The Plovers are eating too much lead.
I'm gonna go to hell for this one.

Well Captain, I posted this with a link to the same page two days ago. Between the two of us we have had six responses! Close to 300 views and 6 comments? Must not be to much of a concern?

Vic

My feeling about this is it will cost us more than this fishing license kaka.

You can count on it to cost more. More in taxes as well. The higher the price the higher the tax!

Vic

I dont have a problem with a ban on split shots and small sinkers because they are eaten on occasion by birds. But how many birds gobble up 4 oz sinkers? And how many of them pull the belly weights outta of plugs. Enough is enough, i think that for every law that is passed a law on the books should get revoked.

Yea and I posted this all last week. I care I sent my comments in. They don't care if they put me out of business.

I also sent another angle to them too...less $$$$$$$$ for the govt. NO sportfishing excise tax if I'm out of business. There's 15k less a year for Michelle's effin vacations. :smash:

For these guys its a no brainer. They just figure they've banned lead everywhere else. They ask themselves why haven't we banned it in fishing materials too.

Thanks Salty, it only takes an email. not more the 30 seconds of time.
By the way, I'm loving your danny that takes an eelskin. Got this mondo skin that fits pretty good. This thing is a fish magnet.

collecting?
 

how about the rendering of Lure collections everywhere that are meant to be fished....to absolutely useless if they contain lead inside them :hs: this is BULL sheet :point: top shelf.

KUDOS to Scott Brown/his office for taking the time to reply. None of the others did.

Dear Mr. Bullock,

Thank you for contacting me regarding the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and lead use in hunting and fishing equipment. As always, I value your input on this and other issues, and strive to keep you updated on the important issues facing us today.

As you may know, on August 3, 2010, several petitioners wrote to the EPA asking for a ban on the manufacture, processing and sale of lead shot, bullets, and fishing sinkers. The EPA is required by law to respond to any petition within 90 days. While the EPA has stated that they do not have the authority to ban the use of lead in shot and bullets, they are still considering the request to ban lead in the use of fishing sinkers.

I understand your concerns regarding the impact of this regulation on both recreational and commercial fishing. Our fishing industry is one of the Commonwealth's oldest industries and has played a significant role in shaping our state's history. In recognition of the importance of these issues, I have passed along your concerns to the EPA. In addition, public comments will be accepted until November 1, 2010, by visiting www.regulations.gov.

Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Should you have any additional questions or comments, please feel free to contact me or visit my website at www.scottbrown.senate.gov.


Sincerely,
Scott P. Brown
United States Senator

Done

better than what i got here in ct.

Sent

Hi Guys, I'm one of your lurker Cape Cod members that likes to read your stuff. This is the best surf fishing forum.

I'm in the marine biology biz and part of my job this past 40 years is to collect coastal sediments and fish tissue for toxicity analysis. All those 4 oz. lead weights and such accumulating on the bottom for decades dissolve into the sand and mud and the fish eggs and fry absorb the stuff, which kills, stunts, or sickens them during the fragile development stage, which means less fish in the long run for us, especially to eat. The dissolved lead really hits the mud worms, crabs, and other benthic infauna hard, which means much less natural food for the little fry and fish to feed on, especially in our estuaries where little flushing occurs.

So the fisheries scientists say the only way to stop the negative impact on our fisheries is to stop introducing lead into the environment. There have been tons of lead fishing weights lost within casting distance of our shorelines, so the lead poisoning of the water-seabed interface where all the little critters live is severe.

I'm only passing along this info so you guys don't feel so bad about springing extra bucks for non-lead wights when it happens. Think of it this way; if we stop losing (putting) lead on the bottom today, in a century or so, maybe your great-great grandkids will have some fish to catch. As you guys know, there used to be 125 pounder stripers all over the place 50-60 years ago. When I started surf fishing the Vineyard and Race Point in the '70s, 75 pounders were the big ones of the day. Nowadays, you guys and others talk about catching the 50 pounder. If we keep slamming the hatching critters with lead soup in their habitat, your great-great grandkids may be plugging for only 10-20 pounders.

We need to stop putting mercury in the water too, but that would require shutting down all our coal power plants, and that ain't going to happen anytime soon, but lead can be removed more easily which is why we're seeing the new legislation.

But don't let me get you down. Good fishing to you all.

References please.

Metallic lead dissolves very slowly in seawater and the amount introduced into the environment by lost fishing tackle is likely ridiculously small relative to the amount washing into the water from erosion, and the amount introduced into the environment through other sources (such as decades of leaded gasoline burning, smelting, bottom paint, paint manufacture, and mining runoff).

Certainly I may be wrong, but if you wish to come to a fishing forum and imply that our actions are hurting a fishery we all care about, some supporting scientific information would be most helpful and appreciated.

As for "125 lb stripers all over the place 50-60 years ago", that is way off target as well and calls into question the accuracy of the other information you have posted.

Sorry to question you, and I don't wish to discourage your participation, but some support for the information you have posted is certainly called for. Thanks

:uhuh::)

Numbskull, you didnt provide any references for your assumptions either...

You're not wrong in any way. The lead pollution comes from everywhere like you say. I was just laying out one of the many reasons we try to stop introducing lead in the water/sediments, which can be picked up by fish, birds and other aquatic life. It is toxic stuff.

Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.%$56(8):%$1494-1503%$(1999)

Lead (Pb) and water

I was off target on the 50-60 years. More like 80-100 years. I remember seeing old B/W photos of New England commercial fisherman hauling in 100+ pound stripers from the 1920s/30s era. These photos were on old university library tin-type photos, and they obviously have not been uploaded, because I would have liked to find one to post here. I could only find a reference for one 125 pounder caught before turn of the last century (1891), but they were out there in big numbers before our fishing methods got so efficient.

"Maximum size: Striped bass generally grow to lengths of up to 59 inches and weights of 55 to 77 pounds. The largest striped bass on record is a 125-pound female caught off North Carolina in 1891."

FishWatch - Atlantic Striped Bass

My only motivation for commenting was because some posters seem to be PO'ed that they might have to spend more for non-lead fishing weights, and I have tried to offer up a justification for the thinking behind the rule making that may result in the ban of lead weights, if it comes to that, so that in the end maybe folks won't be so PO'ed about the switchover from lead. Simple as that.

Cheers.

Sent my comments in weeks ago. But one thing almost everyone seems to have missed is that the EPA has no jurisdiction over anything that is used in the marine environment, that NOAA's jurisdiction. And FWIW lead does not dissolve at all in salt water, it becomes almost immediatley covered in lead oxide, which is not water soluable.

So Bottomgum, your first link describes pretty well that elemental lead (the stuff used in sinkers and jigs) does not dissolve in water. The biologically available leads that create the issues that concern you are man produced and used chemically. Certainly they are an issue, and a reason gasoline is no longer leaded, but hardly a subject for fishing regulations. Probably high concentrations of elemental lead would be bad for marine organisms, but given lead's low solubility in water and the volume of water in the ocean, it is hard to see this being an issue.

The situation is likely analogous to Mercury (Hg). Hg in elemental (ie metal) form is not very toxic stuff. Inhalation of vapor can be bad at high concentration, but absorbtion through the gut or skin is poor. You can drink it and it all comes out the other end. For decades bags of it were used to pass feeding tubes along the gut in ill patients. It is the organic mercury compounds (primarily pesticides) that are highly poisonous neurotoxins and what people get when they eat too much tuna.

Lead is actually more poisonous than Hg in an elemental form (it is absorbed well from the Gi tract and interferes with blood cell maturation (ie causes anemia). That is the reason it is a problem for birds that ingest lead shot and split shot material thinking it is food. As far as I am aware, there is no evidence birds are eating 3 oz sinkers in saltwater.

I am not a toxicologist or a chemist, and I am not pretending to be any kind of expert on this, but I think a VERY large paintbrush gets used to illustrate these environmental issues, and often the public ends up mislead. If lead sinkers are truly a significant harm to the environment, most of us would look to change our behavior. But before doing so we deserve accurate information on just how much harm they are. So far I have seen none other than the bird ingestion issue.

Regardless of the science , if a ban is imposed , it should be eased in with like a 5 year lead time so people can use up what they have already bought and find acceptable substitutes. A sudden turn off is so typical of the way the government abuses authority and has zero consideration for the people when they make these environmentqal related bans.

Finally got a response from Senator Dodd (Dudd). Not that it means anything. Wisely, he's not running this year. Go figure. Duh. Gee, responses like this are just the kind of thing that give you confidence in our elected officials.

Thank you for contacting me with your concerns about environmental protection. I appreciate hearing from you on this critically important issue.



I firmly believe that the federal government has a responsibility to promote responsible environmental stewardship and to preserve natural treasures in their pristine state. There is no greater gift we can give to future generations of Americans than a healthy environment. Throughout my career in public service I have worked for policies that advance these goals on both a national and local level.



For instance, our National Parks system is one of this country's greatest legacies, and I have long supported increased funding so that these irreplaceable parts of our cultural and natural history are protected for generations to come. I am also proud to have had the opportunity to work to preserve some of Connecticut's great treasures, such as the Eightmile River, which was recently designated a federally-protected Wild and Scenic River.



I am additionally committed to protecting our nation's oceans and water resources. I have long championed efforts to clean up and protect Long Island Sound, which is vital to our region's economy and represents one of our most successful efforts under the National Estuary program. Please be assured that I will continue to work for policies that protect our nation's precious natural resources and promote environmental conservation.



Thank you again for contacting me. If you would like to stay in touch with me on this and other issues of importance, please visit my website at U.S. Senator Christopher J. Dodd | D-Connecticut and subscribe to receive my regular e-mail issue alerts. Please do not hesitate to contact me again if I can be of assistance to you in any way.

Typical form letter. I bet he has one all set to respond to any number of arewas of concern his constituents write to him about. maybe Law and order form letter , taxation form letter , medical insurance form letter , etc , etc. :)

numbskull, since this is a “Striper” forum, and not an every-fish board, I should not have unnecessarily stirred the pot, because this lead weight thing is probably aimed more at the split-shot and twist-weight users in brackish and fresh waters, like the lead shot hunters were targeted, and not so much at saltwater sport fishermen.

I did that in jumping in on the lead issue that I am not an expert on either. Sorry about that. I usually deal with toxic soup scenarios like sediments near outfalls from sewage treatment plants and pharmaceutical plants. So I get to see the effects from combinations of dioxins, pesticides/herbicides, methyl-mercury, lead, poly aromatic hydrocarbons, etc. And the effects are tumors, parasites, lesions, blemishes, and other fish diseases. Messy looking stuff, but it is still hard to single out a single substance, like lead, because the different toxins work together to make a mess of our fish populations. I was just suggesting that since it is a given that lead in our aquatic environment is toxic, depending on ambient conditions, that it may be one of the reasons regulators want to pull the plug on banning lead fishing weights. If they don’t pull the plug, then that’s good for you guys. If they do make a change, I’m sure it will be explained more thoroughly than my apparently lame attempt.

I almost wish I didn’t get into this fisheries protection business. I can’t enjoy fishing like I did when I was a kid. Most everything is gone. 90% of the big spawners across species have been fished out this past 50 years, and it doesn’t look good down the road. Politicians have traded favors, bribes, whatever, to weaken or eliminate sound regulations, so now we don’t have much left out there.

Although I still go to the Race, like many guys in the profession, I stopped fishing for stripers about 1980, because anything I caught could be one less spawner in a fish population in trouble and going downhill, so I would get a guilty conscious about it. Fishing catch and release felt good for awhile, until we found out about half of what is released died anyway.

Sorry about making waves on your board guys. My bad. :smash: