Sodium Sulfite Banned by Fall 2011 by ODFW and DEQ

[Spade]

I'm looking for paperwork to prove this rumor but its supposedly from the Aug 6th ODFW Commission meeting.

[Spade]

And a fun quote from Amerman with some knowledge that I find VERY interesting.

"Could the DEQ then ticket an ODFW employee who is feeding fish food pellets at the hatchery to hatchery fish? I mean since the hatchery fish food pellets that are fed to these smolts in the hatchery have sodium sulfite in them. They mix it in the pellets to keep them from molding."

[Plug Rod Marauder]

Are they banning the sale of Sodium Sulfite cures, or are they banning the use all together? Can I expect an odfw employee to ask me for a sample of my eggs to test for S.S. levels? .....Probably not.

This will result in many "new" "fish friendly" cures that will work just as well as the one's you can buy anywhere today. Amermans, Pro Cure, Beau Mac's and Pautzke's will be fine. From this adversity will come enginuity and smolt's will die the same way they always have.

[Spade]

The rumors are that it's banned altogether but they have no way to enforce it so they're simply asking the manufacturers to not do it.

There's debate about more fish friendly cures as ODFW won't do any more testing even though it's being requested by cure makers. So, in theory the blocking of Sodium Sulfite could create a much worse issue if a different more deadly chemical is used that is un-tested. It's a very prime example of half-effort (other word) science and politics.

[GW]

Gargabe science by people who didn't know how much sodium sulfite it was going to take to kill smolts, but knew how much they were going to use.

With the way they did the testing and their unwillingness do any further testing to actually learn something, I'm not even willing to consider it anything more than a bad joke.

[Plug Rod Marauder]

So, in theory the blocking of Sodium Sulfite could create a much worse issue if a different more deadly chemical is used that is un-tested.

Exactly, and some of them are very much already in use today. There's always more than one way to skin a cat.

[steelminer]

Gargabe science by people who didn't know how much sodium sulfite it was going to take to kill smolts, but knew how much they were going to use.

With the way they did the testing and their unwillingness do any further testing to actually learn something, I'm not even willing to consider it anything more than a bad joke.

I have to agree with GW. However, water is a difficult tricky thing to regulate. There are so many variables when it comes to ph, various mineral levels, permanent hardness verses temporary hardness it seems real silly to target and ban sodium sulfite. Even if it is at elevated levels for real in our tributaries it is NOT FROM FISHERMAN! sounds silly.

[Arctic]

From this adversity will come enginuity and smolt's will die the same way they always have.

Exactly. Like they alyaws have... a #4 spinner with two outta three hookpoints buried from the underside of their jaw through their eyeballs... sorry, sounds vulgar, but its true. The smolts are overly aggressive, they will attack eggs, spinners, plugs the size of their own body, pautzke eggs, plastics... you name it, the smolts will crush it! Especially when they get to be the size of small trout. Poor little fish. Sodium sulfite bans are not necessarily the answer, but its prolly gonna happen. So whaddaya do? Grin and bear it? We'll see what happens.

[todd_brooks555]

Exactly. Like they alyaws have... a #4 spinner with two outta three hookpoints buried from the underside of their jaw through their eyeballs... sorry, sounds vulgar, but its true. The smolts are overly aggressive, they will attack eggs, spinners, plugs the size of their own body, pautzke eggs, plastics... you name it, the smolts will crush it! Especially when they get to be the size of small trout. Poor little fish. Sodium sulfite bans are not necessarily the answer, but its prolly gonna happen. So whaddaya do? Grin and bear it? We'll see what happens.

Well put! I can only think this could be a good thing in the long run though. But I'm a bit of a tree hugger so I could be all washed up.

[Chinook SSSF]

*Takes slightly laughing but fed up activist standpoint*

This is sad actually, not that they are banning sulfite because it may harm fish, but because this is yet another instance of our state and federal authorities making pointless choices for us... and GW is right, the science on this was SOOO weak... : /

Any bait can kill small fish, any larger hook can kill small fish....*Does angry Adam Sandler*-SMALL FISH WILL ALWAYS EAT EGGS OF ANY TYPE YOU MORON!-* Therefore you do nothing by banning sulfite.

The small fish are still always going to eat the eggs no matter what we put in them and if it cant be enforced by "pool kit" testing then people will just MAKE THEIR OWN CURES......

So in all what they have done ISSSSSSS...

Sulfite WILL always be in the cures, but the honest guy will be catching alot less fish now....but he WIll still be getting the hook in plenty of smolts ty...

OK so moving on, we need to ban ALLLLLL gas motors from our waterways as they MAY harm fish......

Also RUst from the 20 year old invasive speices transfer warning sign at the top of MOST ramps "yes, long before the invasive species tax was added" that has washed into the river MAY HARM FISH...get it the hell out of there since its now a 10 dollar sticker on my BOAT TRAILOR.....

I can smell ridiculous all the way from here!...


Also I want to clearly point out that NSIA shot a letter out not more than a week later when this report first came out supporting this cause without any further testing needed...and claimed the egg cure makers that they represent, are also for this.....really? ask the egg cure makers what they think now?

OK>>>so in all I support anything that helps fish recover in their natural environment, but I simply do not see this as being anything that is going to "save the fish" but will infact render the "non-guide" honest angler alot less effective, but the rest of the world will still go on......dams, netting in the river, the canadians, high seas piracy, logging, oil spills, gas leaks from EVERY single boat to ever touch the water and yes of course, guides who make their own cures...

Sooo lets see what else we can do to make fishing any harder for the honest angler?

I bet theres a run on sodium sulfite right about now?

Another ironic point I find is that after 30 years of conservation work along the gulf coast, do they think that oil spill harmed fish any?