"Pacific Salmon Gets New Protection from Pesticides"

"Here’s some good news for wild salmon lovers: Right before Thanksgiving, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced new restrictions on pesticide use in California. The first-of-its-kind move is aimed at protecting salmon and steelhead trout native to the state’s rivers and it sets the stage for protections that could benefit salmon along the Pacific coast.

Americans eat more salmon than any other fresh fish. About two-thirds of that salmon is farmed outside the U.S., but the remaining third is Pacific salmon caught primarily off the coasts of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California. While the U.S. commercial Pacific salmon catch clocked in at more than 1 billion pounds last year, a number of Pacific Northwest salmon species are now protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

And, as it turns out, those fish are hard hit by agricultural chemicals."

Elizabeth Grossman reports for Civil Eats December 4, 2014.