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Show Fish Killer? Throughout the summer of 1949, Instances of fish dying in ponds near cotton fields that had been dusted with the hew organic cotton cot-ton insect poisons were reported to both the Alabama department of conservation and the agricultural agricultur-al experiment station. The two organic org-anic poisons reported to have caused the death of fish were toxa-phene toxa-phene and the BHC-DDT mixture. One report of toxaphene killing fish was from the Kilby prison farm near Montgomery. On this farm there was a small fish pond located in a pecan grove that was planted in cotton. When the boll weevil infection became heavy during the early summer, this cotton cot-ton field was dusted with 20 per cent toxaphene by airplane. Since the cotton was protected by the pecan trees. It was impossible impos-sible to get good dust coverage with an airplane. To overcome this difficulty, the pilot tried swooping down over the pond with the dust- er still working, thereby blowmg dust under the trees onto the cotton. cot-ton. This dusting was done late one evening and the Warden reported that not only the dust released over the pond but the dust fog from the entire field seemed to settle over the pond after the plane left. The following morning there were large numbers of small dead fish along the pond edge, and many more were in distress dis-tress and diving in deeper waters. The fish continued to die for about 48 hours. When the fish stopped dying, the pond was drained and no live fish were recovered. Death of these fish was assumed to be caused by toxaphene, since it was known that very low concentrations concen-trations of this material would kill fish. However, there was no information infor-mation on how toxic this 20-per cent dust form was to fish. To obtain ob-tain this much needed information, a number of tests were conducted by the Experiment Station during the summer of 1949. The more common pond fishes, bluegill bream and largemouth black bass, were used in the tests. Results of these experiments showed that six pounds of 20 per cent toxaphene dust (one-half of a normal field application) applied to an average one-acre pond would kill fish. Since this 20 per cent toxaphene dust was found to be poisonous in small amounts, it is believed that the drift from dusting large areas may be sufficient to kill fish in nearby bodies of water. It is possible pos-sible that this drift of dust was responsible for the death of fish in most of the cases that were reported report-ed during 1949. AAA Put 'Em Back! If care is exercised in release, most small fish that are "turned back" will live to grow and bite again, say biologists of the Tennessee Tennes-see state game and fish commission. commis-sion. Survival of fish depends entirely upon the extent of injury. A fish snagged in a vital organ will certainly cer-tainly die but those with just mouth injuries can live. In fact, most fish that are hooked have at least a 50-50 chance for survival. Tests have proven that unless the handling is especially severe and prolonged, fish will survive treatment treat-ment with dry hands, flopping about on the bank or in a boat and the swift jerk out of the water. Tom Bingham, Tennessee chief of law enforcement, cuts off hooks hopelessly lodged in 'small fish for he is convinced they can live. The 'Chief" once fished Cumberland Springs Lake frequently and landed land-ed a largemouth bass weighing 8 pounds, 2 ounces. Deeply imbedded in the fish was a hook and short section of line. He knew the fish had been previously snagged by a friend because the hook was a hand-forged specialty. There have been other cases of fish living for long periods when attached to plugs, leaders and long lengths of loose line. AAA Un-Posting Spreads Wisconsin is in with an encouraging encour-aging report one that should stimulate stim-ulate sportsmen in other states to learn the why and wherefore. Wisconsin Wis-consin reports that this year for the first time in many years land-owners are "un-posting" more streams than are being posted. This is attributed to the state conservation con-servation department's rigidly enforced en-forced rule against planting trout within a half-mile of any pa.r? of i stream that is posted. |