Currents


N E WS


BIRDS OF A FEATHER


FLOCK TOGETHER. PHOTO: LISA DENSMORE


SWITCH TO ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY FISHING LURES


Next time you reach into your tackle box, if you’ve got lead lures or weights in there, hustle over to the trash can and chuck them in. Thank you—you may have just saved a loon. It’s hard to imagine lakes in the north


country without loons. You may have cursed these birds from your kayak for their fish- ing prowess when your creel is empty, but, admit it, you admire the bird’s tuxedo-like plumage, and you would miss their quaver- ing yodel. Loons are in trouble and could go the way of the dodo. If loons disappear from your favorite lake, the fish could too or, at the very least, could become inedible. “Think of any environmental issue, and


it probably affects loons,” says Harry Vogel, senior biologist and executive director of the Loon Preservation Committee (LPC) (www.loon.org) in Moultonborough, New


20 PADDLING MAGAZINE || December 2013


GET THE LEAD OUT


Hampshire. “Loons live at the top of the ecosystem. Everything bio-magnifies and accumulates in them over time.” Loons feed during the day when they


can see prey, which requires clear water. As a result, loons are a key indicator of water quality and are intolerant of pollut- ants. Acid rain can have devastating ef- fects. However, the largest contributor to the demise of the loon is the angler. Some loons become entangled in dis-


carded monofilament and drown, but many more die from lead poisoning, which they get from ingesting lead sinkers and jig-hooks. Lead sinkers are often mixed into the gravel loons scoop off the bottom of a lake to aid their digestion. They swal- low lead jig hooks attached to fish they eat, and sometimes they mistake a trolling lead lure for a fish.


In the mid-2000s, many state and pro-


vincial legislatures banned the use of lead sinkers under one ounce and lead jig hooks under an inch. Since then, studies by the LPC found this law had only a slight im- pact on adult loon mortality, not enough to stabilize the species. The ingestion of lead still accounts for half of all loon deaths, and those deaths directly correlate to the summer months when anglers are most active. Though many anglers ignore the law, loons are also ingesting legal- size jig hooks longer than an inch, which means the well-intended regulation on lead tackle is both difficult to enforce and not comprehensive enough. “We aren’t trying to wipe out fishing


tackle, we just want it made out of differ- ent materials,” says Vogel. “A mother loon has only two chicks, which won’t mate for at least six years. The key to loon success is adult survival, not reproductive success. If you lose a chick it hurts, but if you lose an adult it hurts more.” Kayak anglers can make a difference by


switching to tackle made out of such non- toxic materials as steel, tin, pewter or bis- muth, which are often at a similar or even cheaper price than the lead stuff. So what are you waiting for? Get the lead out! —Lisa Densmore


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