Salmon Declines and Pesticides
A Hidden Threat
Pacific salmon are in serious trouble. The enormous runs of migratory
salmon of the past have slowly dwindled to the trickle that presently inhabit
many western rivers. Although salmon recovery efforts are under way,
scientists, policy makers and interest groups have thus far given insufficient
attention to the role that widespread pesticide contamination in our waterways
may play in salmon declines.
A new report, Diminishing Returns: Salmon Decline and
Pesticides, released February, 1999, by the Oregon Pesticide Education
Network (OPEN), reviews the scientific literature on the effects of sublethal
concentrations of pesticides on salmonids, and places special emphasis on how
pesticides can alter the basic biology of fishes in subtle ways that decrease
their chances for reproduction and survival.
To download a copy of the Executive Summary in PDF format, click here
(takes less than 3 minutes):
To download a complete copy of the full report, also in PDF format,
click here (1.9 MB):
Squawfish from the Newberg pool in the Willamette
River, Oregon, have a high incidence of skeletal deformaties. Pesticides known
to cause such deformaties (such as Trifluralin) have been found in the
Willamette River.
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This page was last updated on 4/4/07. Please let us know if there are
any broken links or you have trouble downloading these files. You can reach
PCFFA or IFR staff at fish1ifr@aol.com.