Thursday 27 May 2021

Imidacloprid With Your Smoked Salmon, Sir?

Neonicotinoid pesticides have been banned for use in terrestrial environments in the US and the EU. A particular concern has been these pesticide's devastating effects on essential pollinators, such as bees. It is somewhat surprising, then, to hear that the Scottish government is about to approve the use of Imidacloprid (one of Beyer's neonicotinoid pesticides) to treat caged salmon on Scottish fish farms (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/27/novichok-for-insects-may-be-approved-for-scottish-fish-farms). The pesticide will be used to kill ectoparasitic sea lice that plague these high density fish. This is in spite of US agencies warning that neonicotinoids also have devastating effects on marine (as well as terrestrial) life. In deed, one scientist has warned that as little as 1 billionth of a gram of Imidacloprid can seriously compromise aquatic life (sea lice are crustaceans). The waters of the caged salmon on the fish farms are, of course, confluent with the open seas. It is also distinctly possible that a fish farm worker could accidentally drop his/her bottle of Imidacloprid into the sea. The decision to allow the use of this neonicotinoid on Scottish fish farms appears very dubious. I expect that Scotland will be giving up exporting any salmon to Europe or the US?

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