Saving Loons from Lead Poisoning
A 12-year Tufts study revealing New England loons are dying from
lead poisoning has triggered a third state, Massachusetts, to ban
lead fishing sinkers from freshwater fishing areas. On June 21,
Massachusetts wildlife officials held a public hearing on proposed
regulations to ban lead fishing sinkers and jigs on both the Wachusett
and Quabbin Reservoirs.
If regulations are approved, as expected, Massachusetts will join
New Hampshire and Maine in the growing number of states choosing
to regulate lead fishing gear in different ways. New Hampshire enacted
legislation banning lead sinkers on all state water areas in January,
and Maine has similar legislation taking effect in 2002.
Four other states, including Vermont, New York, Minnesota and Wisconsin,
are discussing similar action or have begun educational campaigns.
"With three New England states on board, we're looking to
move this initiative to the federal level and expand this kind of
protection nationwide," said Dr. Mark Pokras, head of Tufts'
Wildlife Clinic at the School of Veterinary Medicine. "With
this kind of leadership, we will save the lives of not only hundreds
of loons, but many other species of wild birds that fish on freshwater
Overseas, both Great Britain and Denmark have likewise banned
lead fishing gear and Canada has banned lead gear in its state parks.
Since 1989, Pokras and fellow Tufts wildlife biologists have conducted
animal autopsies on nearly 500 dead loons. They have found that
more than half of the adult loons from the region's freshwater lakes
and ponds are dying of lead poisoning from lead sinkers.
Loons most likely swallow them when they ingest pebbles to aid
in digestion. In the loon's acidic gizzard, the lead breaks down
quickly, is absorbed into the blood, and can cause death within
two weeks. A single dose of 0.3 grams of lead has proven fatal to
loons. Lead sinkers and jigs generally weigh between 0.5 and 15
Wildlife biologists are crediting Tufts research for propelling
the lead safety campaigns. The Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine's
Wildlife Clinic is the federally designated center for emergency
care and rehabilitation of endangered species in the Northeast.