Trout and 1080 are not a good mix
Fish & Game is calling on the Department of Conservation to do more to reduce the threat 1080 poison poses to people gathering food from waterways, saying its present effort is inadequate and self-serving.
On Friday DoC issued a warning to trout anglers not to eat trout from 1080 drop areas for a week after a poisoning operation.
DoC said while it believed it would be rare, it was possible for an angler to be exposed to risk from 1080 by eating a trout that had consumed 1080 bait.
1080 is presently being dropped as part of the national ‘‘Battle for the Birds’’ campaign to control predator numbers.
DoC’s health warning comes after Fish & Game raised serious concerns with both DoC and the Ministry of Primary Industries about the health threat anglers were exposing themselves to by eating trout that had consumed 1080.
Fish & Game chief executive Bryce Johnson said while DoC’s acceptance of public health responsibility over the 1080 issue was pleasing, the warning didn’t go far enough.
‘‘Fish & Game questions the basis of DoC’s advice and believes to be on the safe side, the waiting period needs to be much longer. We recommend instead that anglers wait for a month after a 1080 drop before eating trout from a poisoned area,’’ Mr Johnson says.
And he said DoC could do much more to reduce the health threat.
‘‘Fish & Game has trialled how attractive 1080 baits are to trout and unfortunately we have found they will eat them.
‘‘As a result, we have asked DoC not to drop 1080 into or immediately beside rivers and streams. The technology to do this is readily available and is already used in aerial poisoning operations along conservation land boundaries to stop 1080 falling onto neighbouring properties.’’
‘‘We thought we had reached agreement in talks with DoC last week for this to happen but DoC now appears reluctant to commit itself to this course of action and we must now assume it has failed to instruct its helicopter operators dropping the 1080,’’ Johnson said.
‘‘We don’t oppose efforts to save New Zealand’s indigenous species but are seriously worried by DoC’s inability to organise a poison drop at a less sensitive time of year,’’ Johnson said.