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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 35 Number 9
May 2008
RI lobstermen raise alarm on pesticide use
JAMESTOWN, RI – Rhode Island lobstermen are worried that a pesticide used to control the development of mosquito larvae is killing young lobsters in Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound.
The product, sold under the trade name Altosid, is being deposited in storm drains as part of a state project to control the mosquito population. Many of these drains empty directly into the bay.
Altosid is made of methoprene, a larvicide, which is used to reduce the human risk from mosquito borne diseases such as Eastern Equine Encephalitis, or EEE, and West Nile Virus. However, Rhode Island lobstermen and many environmentalists are strongly opposing the use of methoprene because of concerns that the chemical has the potential to also kill lobster larvae.
Lanny Dellinger, president of the Rhode Island Lobstermen’s Association, acknowledged that there is no conclusive scientific study that specifically names methoprene as the sole cause of low lobster population levels, but he is concerned all the same.
“That’s the point,” Dellinger said. “Nobody knows. The process of elimination tells us it certainly is possible that methoprene is the cause, but we don’t have scientific proof either way. We don’t know if the concentration of methoprene in the bay is harming the lobster reproductive process, and we don’t know if it isn’t. However, it stands to reason that nothing should be introduced into any fishery without knowing the consequences.”
Patrick Heaney, a Rhode Island lobsterman who has been fishing out of Newport for more than 16 years, is convinced the chemicals have the potential to harm lobsters.
In a letter to the editor of a local newspaper, Heaney admonished the state Department of Environmental Management (DEM), cities, and towns for allowing the use of the chemical. His letter was signed by 14 other local fishermen and people concerned about the welfare of the industry.
“The long-term risks of this practice are becoming apparent to those who work in the lobster fishery in the state,” Heaney said. “The ongoing incidence of shell disease and egg mortality, we believe, is a direct result of this environmentally questionable practice.”
Rich Fuka, president of the Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance, Chris Brown, president of the Rhode Island Commercial Fishermen’s Association, and Dennis Ingram, a board member of the Ocean State Fishermen’s Association, all agreed.
Rhode Island fishermen want the state to stop using larvicide pellets in catch basins and storm drains that empty into Rhode Island waters until conclusive scientific data is available declaring the chemicals safe.
Responding to these concerns, the Newport City Council recently passed a resolution to ban the use of toxins, such as methoprene, in the city’s mosquito abatement program effective April 9.
Mosquito abatement
According to DEM Associate Director of Natural Resources Larry Mouradjian, every summer since 1999 DEM and the Department of Health have administered a comprehensive mosquito control program.
“Using mosquito larvicide reduces the possibility that mosquito adulticides would be needed,” he said in an e-mail, explaining that adulticides can affect nontarget organisms and are associated with human health risks.
“Rhode Island DEM makes methoprene available to municipalities for mosquito control as well as BTI, a benign bacterium specific to killing mosquito larvae above ground,” Mouradijian said.
The amount of methoprene pellets placed in catch basins is limited to a 1/2 teaspoon per month for four months. Training on proper use of the product is provided to municipal employees, and they are required to document the use of the larvicide.
Mouradjian said that methoprene pellets sink and are unlikely to be flushed out of a basin based on an experiment conducted by DEM in 2000. He said there was no evidence that methoprene affects lobsters in their natural environment.
“Various research documents have raised questions on the potential offsite movement and impacts of methoprene and like products. Lab research has shown ‘dosage’ impacts on developing lobsters, which demonstrates that if unnaturally high concentrations of methoprene were to occur in the presence of developing lobsters, damage could be observed,” Mouradijian said.
He added that DEM had, on two separate occasions, consulted with the University of Rhode Island and other scientific partners to review the scientific literature and the possibilities of damage outside of the catch basins.
“Tests were done to measure the chemical concentrations seen outside the basins, and all concluded with the results that no detection was determined beyond very short distances,” he said. “So the ‘risk’ was judged negligible to organisms beyond the mosquitoes in the catch basins.”
When asked if the DEM is doing anything to ensure that the health of the fishery is not at risk, Mouradijian said, “DEM will again be reviewing methoprene use to understand the alternative products, advances in scientific data, and cost/benefit to the program.”
See next month’s edition of CFN for the results of a URI study on the use of the larvicide.
Sam Bari
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