CBC - Salmon Kills In Two PEI Rivers "Catastrophic" - Likely Linked To Pesticide Use

[hatrack]

Fish kills on two P.E.I. salmon-spawning rivers have been "catastrophic," says a UPEI scientist. Mike van den Heuvel, a toxicologist with the Canadian Rivers Institute, says most Islanders are unaware of just how serious the fish kills on western P.E.I. have been.

"The fish kills are particularly catastrophic. There are 10 first-class salmon spawning rivers left on P.E.I. And two of those rivers have now been hit by fish kills." Pesticides are almost always to blame for massive fish kills, he said. They wash from farm fields into rivers during heavy rains.

The province has a mandatory buffer zone between fields and rivers of 15 metres. But to stop fish kills, van den Heuvel said, that zone needs to be bigger and government has to get tougher about enforcement. "There's never been any serious prosecution of these events. Oilsands companies killed 1,600 ducks and had to pay $3 million, nobody has ever had to pay anything for the millions of fish that have died on P.E.I."

Environment Minister Richard Brown said he's taking the situation seriously, and depending on results of the investigation, he would consider making the laws tougher. "Maybe our current buffer zone legislation, which is 15 metres, may have to be changed a bit to accommodate areas of high risk."

EDIT

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2011/07/27/pei-fish-kill-environmental-disaster-584.html

[dgibby]

1. They're determined to kill us all, aren't they? n/t

[ladjf]

2. What's the most dangerous problem facing the human race?

The human race. nt

[pscot]

3. We have met the enemy

and he is us.

[ladjf]

4. In light of the fact that homo sapiens has only been around on Earth

for 500,000 or less, if we go extinct within the next few thousand years, we will set a new record of
the least number of years Earth for any species we know of. I call that "short-jevity".

[GliderGuider]

5. "short-jevity"

:rofl: Nice!