Get the lead out
Any of you who were at the Northwest Sportshow in Minneapolis last week saw an interesting Scenario. The Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance Get the Lead Out booth next to the Sensible Manufacturers and Anglers for Responsible Tackle (SMART) booth.
In addition, in Section 2 of the Show program, there is a half-page add from the Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance titled Get the Lead Out . This add shows a radiograph of a dead Loon that has a caption x-ray of a dead loon that injested [sic] lead fishing tackle. Even though the process of converting x-ray images to print images severely reduces image clarity, I see four radio-opaque objects in the image. From left to right, the objects appear to be a split shot, an object that looks like a jig head, a 45 degree bend jig hook, and what looks like an ice fly. I m a Radiologic Technologist by profession, and I once volunteered my time in the seventies helping with a capture and x-ray survey of the Geese wintering on Silver Lake in Rochester MN. I understand x-ray images, and have I seen my share of radiographs of birds.
What are the odds that a loon would swallow 4 different pieces of tackle? What are the odds that these four objects are spread out so nicely and do not superimpose one another in any way? The odds are probably about the same as your odds of winning the lottery, 1 in 80 million. This is supposed to be about Loons, but I think I smell a Rat! The other disturbing thing about the add is it has photos of an American Eagle and a Swan. If they are implying Eagles and Swans are at risk, why isn t this data included?
At the Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance booths, one could get a free sample of lead free fishing free tackle. The samples were put together by the MN DNR. What was interesting was the tackle was made in Canada. If lead free tackle is so readily available why didn t the Minnesota DNR spend Minnesota dollars in Minnesota?
I don t know much about the Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance, so I spent some time at their website. It appears the primary mission is to assist businesses and agencies with recycling, waste management, minimizing the amount of pollutants in our environment, research, education and matching grants. All are needed functions. However, I question their involvement in this controversial matter. If it is from the research viewpoint, a study sample of 56 and 46 birds is not a large enough sample for good statistical analysis. If the mission is education, the statistics don t support the mission! If it s a matching grant, why aren t the partners names on the literature? It appears that a significant amount of money has been spent on this matter and I believe there are more important issues that deserve the focus of the Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance.
Most sound decisions are based on risk-benefit ratio analysis. Is the benefit of banning lead fishing tackle in a stable Loon population worth the economic risk to the Minnesota fishing industry? I don t think so!
The Minnesota House bill to ban lead fishing tackle has been withdrawn. However the Senate bill is still alive. Fellow Minnesota anglers, one of the reasons we choose to fish is the diversion from the complex matters of life. I don t want to get involved in politics but I see this as unwarranted legislation that is unenforceable and another burden for our DNR. If we don t take a stand on this issue, we can expect to see other misguided legislation in the future. If you agree, you need to let your State Senator know that you oppose bill SF #23.
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