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Loading...Huge Victory For Fish And Human Health!
Big success story for endangered fish!
On October 31, a federal judge upheld measures required to protect endangered salmon and steelhead from three highly toxic pesticides. The protections were included in a biological opinion issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in 2008, but unsurprisingly the manufacturers of those pesticides had challenged NMFS’s findings, in an attempt to overturn these protections.
Pesticide Industry’s Attempts To Foil This Ruling Failed
Fortunately, the pesticide industry lost.
Last week, I wrote here about the growing fear that infectious salmon anemia had been found in two wild sockeye smolts collected on the central British Columbia coast. How the anemia might have got there is under discussion, but in the case decided on Monday, it is clear that the pesticide industry is to blame.
The current case actually began with a lawsuit filed by conservation and fishing groups represented by Earthjustice in 2001. In response to that litigation, the fishery experts at NMFS evaluated the pesticides and determined that no-spray buffer zones next to streams and vegetated strips to catch pesticide-laden runoff from fields were needed to protect salmon.
EPA Needs To Take Responsibility
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was supposed to begin regulating those pesticides in 2008, but has yet to act. Earthjustice, representing Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, and Defenders of Wildlife, intervened in the case to defend these important safeguards for west coast salmon and the fisheries jobs they support.
Hooray For Earthjustice And Defenders Of Wildlife!
From the Defenders of Wildlife press release:
“The best available science shows that these toxic pesticides pose a major threat to Pacific coast salmon,” said Steve Mashuda, an attorney with Earthjustice representing the groups. “Today’s ruling is yet another reason why the government must move quickly to ensure that pesticides are removed from Northwest salmon waters.
These pesticides harm salmon in a number of ways, including killing them directly, affecting their food supply and habitat, and interfering with their ability to navigate back to their home streams to spawn. In addition to poisoning salmon, the class of organophosphate pesticides have been linked with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and childhood developmental delays.”
So this is a big win for everyone, and the pesticide industry’s attempt to get around the law has been foiled. Now we need the EPA to get going on the enforcement of this ruling.
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Photo Credit: Canadian Dragon
Read more: defenders of wildlife, earthjustice, national marine fisheries service, protection from pesticides, real food, steelhead, wild salmon
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+ add your ownBravo! Let's move it forward!
Thank you for the good news.
great news :) thanks for sharing :)
I hope it will work!
Thanks! Noted!
The pesticides need to be prevented from being produced -- or at least -- getting into the waters where these fish live, and onto the land near those waters.
Wonderful! Those chemicals aren't just toxic to fish. How many of you are aware of the European study conducted a year or so ago that found acquired chemicals (not naturally occurring) in women's bodies are being transmitted to their fetuses. Yes, you got that right. Babies are born pre-polluted. Is that the kind of "progress" we need?
thnx for this
WHEE!!!!!!!!!! Yea, another victory for the animals {and ultimately for humans as well}.
Their fate is our fate..................................
Great news!
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