Lead has been recognized as a factor in wildlife mortality since the late 1800s. Mass waterfowl and goose die-offs were occurring in the United States at the time, and examinations of the carcasses revealed ingested lead shotgun pellets.

In the 1930s and 1940s, several die-offs occurred in the Mississippi Flyway, resulting in the deaths of thousands of ducks and geese. Research indicated that die-offs were occurring in each of the four North American flyways after the hunting season in late fall and early winter. Accumulations of lead pellets in some areas were exceeding 100,000 per acre.(1) Foraging waterfowl then ate these pellets, presumably mistaking them for grit, grain, or other dietary items.

As early as 1988, loon advocacy groups began expressing concern over the death of waterfowl resulting from lead sinker ingestion.

In 1991, after concluding that toxicosis resulting from ingestion of lead shot shell pellets was a major factor in the mortality of waterfowl populations and a significant impact on duck populations nationwide, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service established regulations (Federal Regulation 50 C.F.R. 20) prohibiting the use of lead shot for waterfowl hunting in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Extensive studies had indicated that lead shot was unintentionally causing 2 million or more waterfowl deaths per year.(2)

Finding that even a single lead sinker can cause bird mortality from lead poisoning and that, in some populations, individual mortalities can affect the vitality of the entire population, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mounted an effort to ban the use of lead (and zinc) sinkers nationwide in the mid-1990s. The EPA was also concerned about the water and soil contamination caused by the deposition of thousands of tons of lead.

The EPA rule would have prohibited the manufacture, processing, distribution, and importation of any lead- or zinc-containing fishing sinker that was one inch or more in any direction. The EPA later withdrew the proposal, however, saying it lacked sufficient data to justify its supposition that lead sinkers were affecting water bird populations adversely.

Shot ingestion rates by waterfowl remain similar to rates seen prior to the 1991 lead shot shell pellets ban, but birds are ingesting more steel shot and less lead. Mallard lead-poisoning deaths have declined 64% in the Mississippi Flyway.(3) Similarly, American Black Duck exposure to lead has decreased 44% since 1991.(4)

Today, however, millions of tons of lead are still deposited annually, as a result of upland game hunting and trap, skeet, and sporting clay shooting with lead shot, and fishing with lead sinkers and lures. Lead also continues to poison Bald Eagles – an occurrence attributed by the University of Minnesota Raptor Center to the use of lead sinkers and jigs.

Lead also poses risks to humans. About 1,600,000 people make 900 tons of sinkers at home, exposing the members of their households to lead dust and vapors.(5) Lead poisoning in humans is generally subtle, but can result in hypertension, miscarriage, and childhood brain damage. Anglers are urged to use pliers rather than hands or teeth to tighten sinkers onto line and are urged to wash their hands before eating. One might also imagine the effect if a toddler, unbeknownst to his or her guardian, swallowed a sinker or two.

While the EPA’s proposed regulation was eventually withdrawn from consideration, action has occurred in other arenas. In 1987, Great Britain banned the use of lead fishing tackle in its waters. In 1997, under the authority of the Canadian Wildlife Act and National Parks Act, Canada prohibited the use of lead sinkers and jigs weighing less than 50 grams in all of its national parks and wildlife areas. Additionally, the use of lead fishing tackle has been banned in Yellowstone National Park and the Seney National Wildlife Refuge in Michigan.

Several states have been forerunners in regulating these toxic materials. The State Activity section of this package details what has been done in the states that have acted on the issue of lead poisoning resulting from lead fishing tackle.