Anglers Face $500 Fine for Using Lead

[Lee Borgersen]

Connecticut Anglers Face $500 Fine for Using Lead Jigs and Sinkers - Make Your Voice Heard
Send a message to your state legislators opposing burdensome and unwarranted fishing tackle regulations today

A bill has been introduced in the Connecticut General Assembly to prohibit the sale and use of the most commonly used lead sinkers and jigs in state waters. This comes on the heels of a decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that a federal ban on lead fishing tackle is unwarranted. Further, anyone found in violation of this proposed ban will be fined $500 per incident. That is six times more severe than the penalty for fishing without a license! A ban on lead fishing tackle in Connecticut will have a significant negative impact on the state's recreational anglers and fisheries resources, but a negligible impact on the waterfowl populations that it seeks to protect. There is no scientific data to support such a ban.

How You Can Help
KeepAmericaFishingT needs your help to protect your right to fish in Connecticut. By sending thousands of letters to the EPA and Members of Congress, anglers like you helped ensure that the federal lead ban petition was rejected. You can do the same to defeat the lead ban bill in the Connecticut General Assembly. Please take action now to ensure that this lead ban legislation will not be adopted.

Connecticut's anglers have already strongly expressed their views and all indications are that the voice of anglers has been heard. The Connecticut legislative session will continue for several months, so the fight is not over yet! Continue to follow KeepAmericaFishingT for further developments on this important issue.

The Situation
In an attempt to ban the sale and use of the most commonly used lead fishing sinkers and jigs in Connecticut, S.B. 59 was introduced in the General Assembly on January 10. Connecticut anglers generate over $268 million in retail sales with a $445 million impact on the nation's economy. A ban of lead sinkers and jigs in Connecticut is not reasonable or warranted without the scientific data to support such a ban. Fishing tackle made from alternatives to lead can be much more expensive and do not perform as well. Adding to this, S.B. 59 proposes a $500 fine per violation, while the penalty for fishing without a license in Connecticut is only $77. If anglers don't act soon, the cost of fishing in Connecticut may significantly increase.

The ban proposed by S.B. 59 is unjustified. The impact on loons and other waterfowl is the most often cited reason for bans on lead fishing tackle, yet Connecticut does not support a breeding loon population and wintering grebe populations are isolated to a few select waterways. Waterfowl populations in Connecticut are subject to much more substantial threats such as habitat loss, water acidification and mercury poisoning. Any lead restrictions need to be based on scientific data that supports the appropriate action for a particular water body or species. The bottom line is that this proposed ban on lead sinkers and jigs is not supported by science or an identified need.

http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/6394/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=3136