Fish abnormalities found in three rivers - Balt. Sun 2/17/13

[Fishinfool]

Well, it doesn't look too good for the long term health of the once thriving yellow perch in our tributaries. The fisheries biologists are finally starting to isolate the causes of a long run of fairly anemic spawning numbers. It seems that yellow perch have become the canary in the coal mine, and it's not looking good for them right now.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/features...,6293906.story

[striperstalker]

http://www.wnd.com/2007/07/42520/ Estrogen from birth control pills is having grave effects on the fish. Male fish with eggs. Lack of male fish. Intersex fish that have both male & female traits. Intersex fish was mentioned in the article. This is a far larger problem than people are acknowledging. A Canadian study removes almost any doubt that this problem is real and effecting the Susky as well.

[striperstalker]

Here is a link to the Canadain study http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/press...enizedfish.htm

[Fishinfool]

How in the world is all that estrogen getting into the spawning rivers?

[J.A. Veil]

How in the world is all that estrogen getting into the spawning rivers?

Much of the pharmaceutical products get into our rivers via permitted sewage treatment plants. We use prescription drugs of all sorts, then pee and poop into our toilets. Our wastes contain low levels of residual chemicals that are flushed to the sewage treatment plants. Most treatment plants are not designed to remove the chemicals in the drugs and their metabolic byproducts.

[Fishinfool]

Much of the pharmaceutical products get into our rivers via permitted sewage treatment plants. We use prescription drugs of all sorts, then pee and poop into our toilets. Our wastes contain low levels of residual chemicals that are flushed to the sewage treatment plants. Most treatment plants are not designed to remove the chemicals in the drugs and their metabolic byproducts.

John, that's interesting but it all remains rather disconcerting. I guess filtering all those bio-toxins is not economically feasible yet, or is it?

It's very sad to be losing our yellow perch. This was the fish of my youth, the one I'd get up at 5:00 am and catch before school started. I wonder if it would help if they could be placed on the endangered species list? Or if they would even qualify?

[Cal]

One solution is a reverse osmosis filter type system on a large scale installed at the treatment plants to try and remove the impurities that are dumped into the local rivers and streams. However that is not a priority. the government would rather design new weapons of war, drones and missiles than clean up the waters. All the fishing here is not what it could be, and it could be a different scene with a few simple steps. the water under the BB is really foul a lot of the time, to name one sore spot.