Story by John Meyers, Duluth News Tribune, March 2006
Minnesota anglers aren't losing much tackle on each fishing trip, but collectively, tons of lead sinkers and jigs are ending up on lake bottoms.
That's the finding of a new study the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources unveiled this week at a meeting of 400 natural resource managers and scientists in Brainerd, Minn.
It's the first scientific study on how much lead tackle is lost in Minnesota lakes. And it could bolster efforts to ban small lead fishing tackle that can kill loons and other water birds that eat it.
The study looked at five of the state's more popular walleye fishing lakes — Rainy, Namakan, Leech, Mille Lacs and Lake of the Woods — using survey interviews to find out how much fishing tackle anglers lost.
On each trip, each angler lost remarkably little tackle, the study found. For example, one lead-head jig was being lost every 40 hours.
But when multiplied by millions of anglers over millions of hours fished, year after year, the lead is piling up.
During the summer of 2004, anglers in the five lakes surveyed lost 215,000 pieces of tackle to snags and broken line. Of that, about 100,000 pieces were made of lead, totaling more than one ton of lead lost in the lakes.
And that was just five lakes over one summer.
From 1983 to 2004, using DNR survey data, the study estimates anglers left more than 1 million pieces of lead in Lake Mille Lacs alone. That adds up to more than nine tons of lead over 20 years.
Scientists say a single lead jig can kill a loon. The toxic metal can damage nervous and reproductive systems of all mammals and birds. The birds can die within a few days of ingesting the lead.
"In critical wildlife areas with high angling effort or high tackle loss rates — prohibiting the use of lead tackle may be necessary," the report concludes.
LEAD BITS CONCENTRATED
Paul Radomski, a DNR fish biologist, was the leading author of the study, which will be published in the next issue of the North American Journal of Fisheries Management.
"I was amazed at how little tackle anglers are losing out there. It was much lower than I anticipated,'' Radomski said. "Yet, even at the very low loss rates we found, the amount of lead ending up in the lakes is incredible."
The lost tackle likely is concentrated on reefs, rocky points and other areas where fish, fishermen and loons congregate, the study notes.
Radomski estimates more than eight tons of lead is lost each year in Minnesota's 300 most popular walleye lakes, mostly in the northeast and north-central regions of the state, where loons also are most common.
"It really opened my eyes on the volume of lead involved. And if you go back for all the decades we've been fishing these lakes, it's not hard to figure how much lead is down there," Radomski said. "It's caused me to re-evaluate what's in my tackle box."
The study conducted 8,068 angler interviews and made contact with nearly 6,500 different groups of anglers on the five lakes. Because the surveys were done as part of the DNR's usual assessment of fish harvest and angling pressure, called a creel survey, lead tackle data essentially was free, Radomski said.
LOON INGESTION
Several studies have shown that loons ingest lead, apparently mistaking it for the grit they use to digest food or by eating small fish that have tackle inside them. The biggest threat is from small jigs and weights — those under a half-ounce.
Research on dead adult loons recovered in six New England states from 1987 to 2002 showed 26 percent had died because of lead fishing tackle. On some popular fishing lakes, the death rate from lead tackle exceeded 50 percent.
In Michigan, a 15-year study found lead tackle killed nearly one in four loons.
Other studies show that lead poisoning is the second-largest cause of death for loons, trailing only traumatic injury, which occurs mostly from being struck by boats.
New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, England and Canada's national parks have banned small lead tackle. Michigan lawmakers are considering a bill this year.
Minnesota lawmakers in 2003 considered banning small lead tackle, an effort thwarted by fishing tackle manufacturers who said the cost of converting was too high and the impact on loons uncertain.
Instead of legislation, the state has promoted alternatives to lead such as tungsten, tin, glass, bismuth and polymers. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency will continue to host tackle exchanges offering anglers free samples of nonlead tackle for their turned-in lead.
Kevin McDonald, lead-tackle program coordinator for the state agency, said anglers will see even more alternatives in 2006.
CRITICS QUESTION NEED
That lead is toxic to people and animals isn't in question. Federal regulators have ordered lead removed from gasoline and paint because of its devastating effects on child development.
Lead has been banned in shotgun shell pellets for waterfowl hunting for more than two decades because tiny lead bits poisoned waterfowl, upland birds and birds of prey. Some states have eyed a move away from lead bullets as well.
Minnesota and Wisconsin loon populations are stable and strong, and critics say lead's impact is small. They say loons face a greater threat from cabin development, disease, boat traffic and fluctuating water levels from dams.
But supporters of getting small lead jigs and sinkers out of tackle boxes say that any loons killed by lead are an unnecessary loss with an easy fix.
