Lead Tackle Exhange at DLWA Office

A lead-related loon fatality

Lead poisoning is the number one cause of death of adult loons in New England, and was definitively linked to the death of a loon in neighboring Pemaquid Pond in 2012. Symptoms may be severe and fast and include disorientation and lethargy, making diving and flying difficult and ultimately leading to death. Loons may ingest lead sinkers or tackle when eating fish which have tackle attached or have ingested sinkers themselves, or when lost sinkers are ingested along with rocks from the lake bottom when loons fill their gizzards with rocks (gizzards are organs that help birds to grind up food without the use of teeth).

DLWA has recently partnered with the Somerset County Soil and Water Conservation District’s Unleaded Loon program to host a tackle exchange box at our office where fishermen and anglers can exchange their sinkers and jigs for non-lead alternatives, for free. Please help us save the loons and stop by and check it out!