General

About two dozen residents and sportsmen gathered at Howard’s on the River Central Building in Pateros last Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017 to participate in a discussion of local wildlife issues – particularly steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) - with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) representatives. The balance of the two hour-plus meeting was devoted to the local steelhead fishery and its closure in the upper Columbia River system for the past two years.

The long, contentious debate over using a controversial pesticide to control pests threatening Willapa Bay’s multimillion dollar oyster industry may be resolved this year.The state Department of Ecology Tuesday released a draft environmental impact study of using imidacloprid to control the burrowing shrimp that undermine and smother oyster beds. Supporters and opponents likely will both find ammunition in the report, which draws a mix of conclusions. It says that using imidacloprid would:

The Living Planet Report Canada, published today, is the most comprehensive synthesis of Canadian wildlife population trends ever conducted. It shows that on average from 1970 to 2014, half of monitored vertebrate wildlife species in the study suffered population declines. Of those, average decline is 83 per cent since 1970. The picture is also worrisome for Canada’s federally protected species. Since 2002, when the Species at Risk Act became law, federally listed at-risk wildlife populations declined by 28 per cent, the report shows.

Auch in Schweden gibt es nun ein mysteriöses Vogelsterben. In der kleinen Stadt Falköping in Südschweden seien rund 50 bis 100 Vogelkadaver auf einer Straße gefunden worden, berichteten lokale Medien. Unterdessen wurden in den USA weitere 500 tote Vögel entdeckt. Man habe die verendeten Tiere nahe der Ortschaft Pointe Coupee im Bundesstaat Louisiana gefunden, berichteten lokale Medien. Die Kadaver seien am Montag auf einer Landstraße gelegen.

Es kann keinen Zweifel mehr geben, dass das „Insektensterben“ von großer Tragweite ist, für die Landwirtschaft, für die Ökosysteme und die Biodiversität im Land, und nicht zuletzt für alle, die sich einen Frühling ohne Schmetterlinge nicht vorstellen können. Fakt ist ein Rückgang von Insekten und insektenfressenden Wirbeltieren in Deutschland. Als Hauptgrund für dieses „Verschwinden“ wird jeweils der Einsatz von systemischen Insektiziden vermutet. Diese Stoffe wirken auf das Nervensystem und somit auf den Orientierungssinn und das Verhalten von Insekten und anderen Gliedertieren.

Analysis of Geneva Lake’s zooplankton populations shows that the numbers of the little animals that populate the bottom of the lake’s food chain are continuing to disappear in disturbing numbers. In a written report to the Geneva Lake Environmental Agency board of directors on Thursday, Ted Peters, GLEA director, said that in an email the analyst doing the zooplankton count for the GLEA has indicated that other species of zooplankton are now also starting to disappear.

Salmon fishing groups have called for urgent action over the "unprecedented collapse" of a major run in Argyll. The 2017 count from the River Awe in the south-west Highlands is projected to be the lowest since records began. The group said this year's count from the Awe has only been running at a third of the 2016 count, which was itself only just above the all-time low since records began in 1965. The 2016 total was 807 fish, but STCS said the 2017 count may "struggle to reach 400", with 30 weeks of the season already past.

More than 180 pesticides and their by-products were detected in small streams throughout 11 Midwestern states, some at concentrations likely to harm aquatic insects, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey. The mixtures of pesticides are more complex than previously reported by the USGS—94 pesticides and 89 pesticide byproducts were detected. On average, 52 pesticide compounds were identified in each stream.

The delectable hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha) seems to be fast dwindling from the markets in the coastal districts of Kendrapada and Jagatsinghpur, putting a strain on the people of Odisha. Following a low catch, the cost of hilsa too has gone up significantly. These days the cost of hilsa ranges from Rs 700 to Rs 800/kg and even the small-sized fish are being sold for not less than Rs 500/kg. "The irony is that the hilsa has now turned into a luxury item, beyond the reach of the common man due to its exorbitantly high price," said Swadhin Dash, a bank employee from Kendrapada.