Considering Banning Lead Fishing Bait Weights Over Toxicity

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WB Fishing Reports
Posts: 394
Joined: Fri Feb 03, 2012 10:29 am

Considering Banning Lead Fishing Bait Weights Over Toxicity

Post by WB Fishing Reports »

The Outdoor Sportsman fishing supply sales team said it sells hundreds of lead weights every week. Avid fishermen say you can’t fish in the Delta or rivers without them.

“You pretty much need lead weights for every application of fishing,” fisherman Kenji Nakagawa said the lead weights keep the bait on the bottom of the river and keeps the current from taking the fishing line.

The Stockton sports store sells a lot of lead weights, because fishermen admit to losing a lot of them.

“You do lose quite a bit, so maybe $10-$15 dollars a trip we would lose,” said Nakagawa.

The weight is made of lead, a potentially harmful toxic chemical. The California Department of Toxic Substance Control is looking into banning them from the state’s waters.

“It’s a work plan over 3 years, so in that 3 year period we would be having more dialogue, we would be having workshops, getting experts in the field in to talk to us,” said DTSC spokesman Karl Palmer.

Palmer said a ban is not in the immediate future; the fishing gear is just part of a 7-category harmful substance study.

Fishermen, however, said they don’t want a three-year study to turn into a ban, so they’re petitioning the agency now.

“So, if you had a bait like this, a laser mino, it’s a 3 ounce bait going for $5,” said Outdoor Sportsman manager Andrew Grafius.
“And if you took that and went to a Tungsten weight, this is $9 for one ounce.”

Grafius said if you do the math, your outdoor hobby will cost you a whole lot more.

“A weight like this is 12 ounces, if you do 12 ounces times $9, that weight will now be $108.”

Read more watch video: http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2014/10/ ... -concerns/
Wolfeman
Posts: 802
Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2005 12:53 pm
Location: Brentwood

Re: Considering Banning Lead Fishing Bait Weights Over Toxic

Post by Wolfeman »

WB Fishing Reports wrote:The Outdoor Sportsman fishing supply sales team said it sells hundreds of lead weights every week. Avid fishermen say you can’t fish in the Delta or rivers without them.

“You pretty much need lead weights for every application of fishing,” fisherman Kenji Nakagawa said the lead weights keep the bait on the bottom of the river and keeps the current from taking the fishing line.

The Stockton sports store sells a lot of lead weights, because fishermen admit to losing a lot of them.

“You do lose quite a bit, so maybe $10-$15 dollars a trip we would lose,” said Nakagawa.

The weight is made of lead, a potentially harmful toxic chemical. The California Department of Toxic Substance Control is looking into banning them from the state’s waters.

“It’s a work plan over 3 years, so in that 3 year period we would be having more dialogue, we would be having workshops, getting experts in the field in to talk to us,” said DTSC spokesman Karl Palmer.

Palmer said a ban is not in the immediate future; the fishing gear is just part of a 7-category harmful substance study.

Fishermen, however, said they don’t want a three-year study to turn into a ban, so they’re petitioning the agency now.

“So, if you had a bait like this, a laser mino, it’s a 3 ounce bait going for $5,” said Outdoor Sportsman manager Andrew Grafius.
“And if you took that and went to a Tungsten weight, this is $9 for one ounce.”

Grafius said if you do the math, your outdoor hobby will cost you a whole lot more.

“A weight like this is 12 ounces, if you do 12 ounces times $9, that weight will now be $108.”

Read more watch video: http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2014/10/ ... -concerns/

Okay, I'm missing something here. Lead is poison. It is hurting our environment. But we want to keep doing that because it will cost us more money. So, let's keep killing the environment to save money.
Sounds like Prop 1 killing the Delta; we're all against that, but we need to keep our lead.
I'm sure I'm missing something here, so please enlighten me.
Sorry in advanced for being so clueless.
- Wolfeman
"Don't take life too seriously. You're not getting out alive." Bugs Bunny
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