National and International Challenges and Lessons Learned on Fish Management Chemicals

Moderators: Brian Finlayson* and Rosalie (Roz) Schnick
Emails: bfinlays@ospr.dfg.ca.gov and RozSchnick@centurytel.net

Date: Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Time: 8:00 am to 3:20 pm
Location: Egan 6

Rotenone (e.g., Prentox® and CFT Legumine®) and antimycin (Fintrol®) are used in natural and manmade water systems worldwide to facilitate fisheries management and are currently undergoing reregistration in the United States. A number of evolving issues have recently challenged the continued use of these chemicals to manipulate fish populations for sport fisheries, control exotic species, control parasites, and restore native, threatened and endangered species. The issues include technical feasibility, expense of data required for registration, adequate training and guidance for applicators, public education in an era of public concern, unscientific assessment of impacts, indiscriminate acceptance of non-chemical alternatives, duplicative and often, counterproductive environmental regulations, and acceptance of tradeoffs for native fish and environmental safety . These issues have delayed and occasionally cancelled projects, but lessons (i.e., solutions) have been learned. Similar challenges have affected the fish drug approval process including anesthetics for conducting population assessments on fish that are immediately released (zero withdrawal time) into public waters. No such anesthetic is currently approved but AQUI-S® is going through the approval process. The symposium will present a series of papers that describe current technical and non-technical challenges facing the use of fishery chemicals worldwide and how to best resolve the issues. AFS Task Force on Fishery Chemicals-sponsored symposium will cover a wide variety of topics from a variety of state, federal and international agencies, and conservation groups. This symposium will provide participants with a better appreciation of current issues, their solutions, and how to better prepare for projects that are likely to succeed. Information gained from the symposium will assist AFS in the development a long-term strategy for the use of chemicals in fish management. It is expected that several of the papers will be published as a proceedings.

Link to list of presentations in this symposium

Sponsors:

AFS Task Force on Fishery Chemicals

Prentiss Incorporated

Turner Enterprises

CFT Legumine ®

Aquabiotics Corporation