Pesticides threatening salmon on US West Coast

Three widespread pesticides used in commercial farming in the United States are wreaking havoc on salmon populations, according to a report released by the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service.

The insecticides chlorpyrifos, malathion, and diazinon, used on everything from broccoli to cotton to strawberries, are affecting 38 different species of endangered salmon and are causing negative effects on 37 “critical habitat” areas for endangered fish, the report said.

The chemicals are also jeopardizing the health of orcas because their diet consists largely of salmon, according to NMFS..

In 2016, under the administration of President Barack Obama, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was set to ban chlorpyrifos, which has been also been proven as damaging to the brains of human babies in utero. However, with the change of presidential administrations, new EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt reversed course, allowing the pesticide to stay on the market while its effects undergo further study. 

Now that the report has been released, conservation groups are renewing their push to ban the pesticide.  

"Those of us who fight to protect and restore rivers and their critical fisheries are very pleased that the [report] was released," said Sharon Selvaggio, who represents Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides. "To protect salmon, we need to respond to what the science is showing us.”

In response to the report, a spokesperson for CropLife America, which supports the pesticide industry, said that the report had been produced too quickly and as a result, it was flawed. The alleged speediness of the production “resulted in a document that has the potential to create exaggerated and unfounded concerns regarding threatened and endangered species and have a negative impact on farmers, as well as public health protection,” the spokesperson said.