CT LEAD BAN

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Connecticut Anglers Face $500 Fine for Using Lead Jigs and Sinkers – Make Your Voice Heard

Send a message to your state legislators opposing burdensome and unwarranted fishing tackle regulations today

A bill has been introduced in the Connecticut General Assembly to prohibit the sale and use of the most commonly used lead sinkers and jigs in state waters. This comes on the heels of a decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that a federal ban on lead fishing tackle is unwarranted. Further, anyone found in violation of this proposed ban will be fined $500 per incident. That is six times more severe than the penalty for fishing without a license! A ban on lead fishing tackle in Connecticut will have a significant negative impact on the state's recreational anglers and fisheries resources, but a negligible impact on the waterfowl populations that it seeks to protect. There is no scientific data to support such a ban.
How You Can Help

KeepAmericaFishing™ needs your help to protect your right to fish in Connecticut. By sending thousands of letters to the EPA and Members of Congress, anglers like you helped ensure that the federal lead ban petition was rejected. You can do the same to defeat the lead ban bill in the Connecticut General Assembly.

Please take action now to ensure that this lead ban legislation will not be adopted. There will be a public hearing on this bill on January 31, so please send a message to Connecticut state legislators today! Connecticut residents are also encouraged to attend the hearing to voice your opposition.
The Situation

In an attempt to ban the sale and use of the most commonly used lead fishing sinkers and jigs in Connecticut, S.B. 59 was introduced in the General Assembly on January 10. Connecticut anglers generate over $268 million in retail sales with a $445 million impact on the nation's economy. A ban of lead sinkers and jigs in Connecticut is not reasonable or warranted without the scientific data to support such a ban. Fishing tackle made from alternatives to lead can be much more expensive and do not perform as well. Adding to this, S.B. 59 proposes a $500 fine per violation, while the penalty for fishing without a license in Connecticut is only $77. If anglers don't act soon, the cost of fishing in Connecticut may significantly increase.

The ban proposed by S.B. 59 is unjustified. The impact on loons and other waterfowl is the most often cited reason for bans on lead fishing tackle, yet Connecticut does not support a breeding loon population and wintering grebe populations are isolated to a few select waterways. Waterfowl populations in Connecticut are subject to much more substantial threats such as habitat loss, water acidification and mercury poisoning. Any lead restrictions need to be based on scientific data that supports the appropriate action for a particular water body or species. The bottom line is that this proposed ban on lead sinkers and jigs is not supported by science or an identified need.
Act Now!

Enter your zip code below to send a message to your state legislator to express your opposition to this scientifically and biologically unjustified fishing tackle ban. Please take action now to ensure that the Connecticut General Assembly does not adopted this unwarranted legislation; send your message today!

We also encourage Connecticut residents to attend the hearing and to voice your opposition. The hearing is located in Room 1E of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford at 12 P.M. on January 31.

[Raven]

our feathered friends can only swallow split shot used in
freshwater finesse fishing not huge saltwater sinkers.....

the elimination of lead bird shot was for that specific purpose
and i do agree with the science behind it

but this,,,, this is total CRAP!

[MikeToole]

Unless I'm reading it wrong it looks like the bill only applies to lead of less than 1 oz. for fishing. NH has had a law like this in place for several years and it hasn't been much of a problem, at least from what I've seen.

"For purposes of this section, "lead sinker'' means any sinker made from lead, the lead portion of which has a mass of one ounce or less, and "lead jig'' means a lead weighted hook that measures less than one inch along its longest axis. Lead sinkers and lead jigs shall not include lead fishing-related items including, but not limited to, fishing line, flies, lures or spoons."

[zimmy]

Originally Posted by MikeToole

Unless I'm reading it wrong it looks like the bill only applies to lead of less than 1 oz. for fishing. NH has had a law like this in place for several years and it hasn't been much of a problem, at least from what I've seen.

"For purposes of this section, "lead sinker'' means any sinker made from lead, the lead portion of which has a mass of one ounce or less, and "lead jig'' means a lead weighted hook that measures less than one inch along its longest axis. Lead sinkers and lead jigs shall not include lead fishing-related items including, but not limited to, fishing line, flies, lures or spoons."

Is it the total length of the jig? I can see banning small weights and tiny jigs. They are bad news for water fowl. If it prevents using a 1/2 jig head with a 2 in. hook, then it is certainly unnecessarily restrictive.