Car Tyres and Salmon

A study from Washington State University had found that the die-offs, before spawning, of mature Coho salmon in the State's rivers and streams are linked to rubber fragments from car tyres (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/03/coho-salmon-pollution-car-tires-die-off). These fragments (actually a kind of microplastic pollution) are produced by friction of the car wheels on the road surface. The fragments (accompanied, I expect, by plastics from the braking systems of cars), are then washed, by rain, into the streams and rivers up which the salmon are migrating to spawn. As noted previously, road traffic is the major source of microplastic pollution, entering the rivers and oceans. Reducing plastic pollution, isn't just a case of banning plastic bottles and bags. These microplastics will still pollute if electric cars are widely adopted (they still have rubber tyres and brakes).