

Spawning, creating unstable tailings, and killing eggs and larvae. The serious environmental risks posed by suction dredge mining and need forĭredge mining can harm fish, including endangered salmonids, by disrupting It impacts fish and the aquatic food web by destroying aquatic habitat, physically “processing” fish and aquatic life, creating fish stranding risks in dredging pools (where fish are restricted to poor habitat as a consequence of physical separation from a main body of water), and destroys riparian vegetation.ĩ th Circuit in support of Oregon and California laws regulatingĪttorney General Bob Ferguson wrote the following: It mobilizes mercury and other heavy metals. More specifically, it causes erosion and sedimentation. The science is clear: Suction dredge mining degrades water quality and harms fish.

Though you may see comments from a select few upholding the activity, the science is incredibly clear on negative impacts it causes to our already-stressed fish populations.

Two bills will move through the Washington legislature this session with the goal of updating the state’s laws protecting its fish and waterways from impacts of suction dredge mining.
