> A final note, Blue Lake has had all the fish killed
> with Rotenone (sp?) so
> there are many dead fish along the shore of the
> lake. Does
> anyone know of the breakdown
> time for Rotenone and whether or not it is a health
> issue for wildlife that
> consume it second-hand?

George and Tweeters,
>From Wikipedia:
"Rotenone is a colorless-to-red, odorless solid. In
solution it is used as a broad-spectrum insecticide
that works by inhibiting the transfer of electrons
from Fe-S centers in Complex I to ubiquinone (see
electron transfer chain). This prevents NADH from
being converted into usable cellular energy (ATP).

Rotenone is commonly used in powdered form to reduce
parasitic mites on chickens and other fowl. It also
stuns or kills fish and is used to eradicate exotic
fish from their non-native habitats.

Rotenone is toxic to humans and other mammals.
However, the compound breaks down when exposed to
sunlight and usually has a short lifetime (two weeks
or less) in the environment. In water rotenone may
last six months.

Rotenone is produced by extraction from the roots and
stems of several tropical and subtropical plant
species belonging to the genus Lonchocarpus or Derris.
People have been known to catch fish by extracting
rotenone from plants and releasing it into water. The
initial such usage was by various indigenous tribes
who simply smashed the roots."


>From another site:
http://www.pan-uk.org/pestnews/Actives/rotenone.htm
"Fate in the environment
Rotenone is rapidly broken down in soil and water: its
half-life in both is between one and three days(38).
Nearly all its toxicity is lost in five to six days of
spring sunlight, or two to three days of summer
sunlight. It does not readily leach from soil and it
is not expected to be a groundwater pollutant(39).

Water
Rotenone is highly toxic to fish: most values for the
96 hour LC50 (lethal concentration required to kill
half the test organisms) for different fish species
and for daphnids (water fleas) lie in the range of
0.02 to 0.2 mg/litre. If used as a piscicide, it may
also cause a temporary decrease in numbers of other
aquatic organisms(40).
There is considerable controversy over the use of
rotenone to kill non-game fish in water body
management areas. One study found that the practice
has a substantially harmful effect on biodiversity, in
which several populations of the native fish showed
negligible signs of recovering stocks, while
populations of all exotic species are up."

Guy



Guy McWethy
Renton, WA
mailto: lguy_mcw at yahoo.com



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