Sierra Club Statement on World Fish Migration Day

Philadelphia, PA.- The New Jersey Sierra Club is joining the Delaware Riverkeeper Network and other groups to celebrate World Fish Migration Day today in at Penn Treaty Park. We’re gathering to bring attention to the critical importance of continued water quality improvements for our rivers, migratory fish, and the overall health of our communities. Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, released the following statement:

“Our oceans are in trouble, our Rivers are becoming more polluted, and our fisheries are becoming more and more at risk. That’s why we’re commemorating World Fish Migration Day; because of the series decline due to climate change, pollution, and overfishing. Here in New Jersey, we have Salem nuclear power plants killing billions of fish and fish larvae each year while continuing to pollute the Delaware. For far too long, the industrial facilities along the River have polluted the River and slaughtered millions of fish including the endangered Atlantic Sturgeon.

“The present cooling systems of South Jersey nuclear plants are responsible for killing 17 billion fish and fish larvae a year, polluting the Bay and destroying fisheries. This is because the plants lack cooling towers to reduce the temperature of the superheated water being dumped. A closed-loop system is feasibly both engineering-wise and economically but has yet to be required in the outdated or new permits at the PSEG plants in Salem. The Salem plant has been licensed for another twenty years and therefore should be required to have cooling towers.

“New Jersey DEP used to require permits for cooling towers, but Governor Whitman changed this rule due to a political game. These requirements were then taken away, loosening restrictions for plants in the state. The Salem plant also dumps many hazardous and toxic chemicals including metals, fungicides, mercury, and anti-corrosives within the super-heated water. For many years the DEP has allowed the same permits, ignoring the Clean Water Act. After the Sierra Club took them to court they finally issued new permits which ended up being the same as the old ones.

“Too much contamination can lead to fish advisories where the chemicals are having an impact on wildlife especially fish and birds. These toxic chemicals like PCB and dioxin cause a real threat because they bio-accumulate in the different species and affect the entire food chain. Even small or de minimus, portions of toxic chemicals like dioxin, PCBs, lead, and mercury and hydrogen cyanides can bioaccumulate in marine life, no longer being small amounts. This can lead to our sources of food becoming full of dangerous contaminants.

“New Jersey does not have enough inspectors to oversee the fisheries: 40% less conservation officers now than in 2005. The FDA criticized New Jersey for not having enough inspectors or updating rules. This is due to budget cuts and over the years. Close to two-thirds of New Jersey’s waters are not clean

enough for harvesting shellfish. People are banned from eating crabs that come from the North Bay because of dioxin contamination. Pregnant women are told not to eat bluefish from the Jersey shore because of PCBs. Some species, even stripers, are recommended for people to eat only once a decade due to danger.

“The Chambers Works facility on the Delaware has been responsible for pollution for many years. The facility never conducted an anti-degradation analysis for the release of treated wastewater or any analysis on the bioaccumulation of toxins in the ecosystem. They even attempted to bring VX Nerve Agent to the facility for dumping in 2004-2006. Dioxin from New Jersey’s Diamond Alkali plant has been found in fish all the way down to Florida.

“Overfishing that hurts the populations, ecology, and fishing industry in the long-term. We’ve lost other fisheries in our state such as cod and shrimp by overfishing in the past. Pollution and overfishing are now threatening flounder numbers as well as other species including black sea bass. Stricter fishing regulations set by the government can rush fisheries’ ability to make a living while ignoring those regulations can destroy a population of a species.

“Shark finning has led to the overfishing and overexploitation of shark species. Since shark fin soup is a delicacy, the fins are sold at high prices resulting in tens of millions of sharks being killed every year. This has led to a dramatic decrease in the shark population with some species like the smooth hammerhead dropping a staggering 99% since 1972. When sharks are removed from an ecosystem, it triggers a collapse in the entire food web and can lead to problems with our own marine food sources.

“Climate change is also a major contributor to problems with fisheries. Changes in water temperatures and acidification alters habitat and migration routes for many fish and aquatic species. These changes also affect the production of the lowest levels of the food chain, the plankton, which ripples changes throughout the entire ecosystem. Horseshoe crabs have specific activities, including mating and spawning, that are disrupted by changes in storm surges, temperature, etc.

“We’re heading into a crisis and if we don’t start changing policies on climate change, protecting habitat and overfishing, we’ll see fisheries continue to crash. We need to clean up toxic sites and stop polluting waterways. We may also see the destruction of our entire ocean ecosystems. We can’t wait any longer or we’ll have no fish left in our waterways. The time to act is now because pretty soon we’ll be saying ‘We wish for a fish!’ if we don’t.”