For some time now, local stewardship groups, including Millard Piercy Watershed Stewards, have been concerned about a chemical called 6PPD-quinone getting into our streams and killing fish. Madeline Dunnett, reporter for the Discourse, just wrote an informative article describing the problem, the research that has gone into it, and the solutions! See below for an excerpt and a link to the full article.
A chemical known as 6PPD-quinone stops the rubber in tires from deteriorating, but it has lethal effects on some fish populations.
By Madeline Dunnett, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Dead juvenile coho found in Piercy Creek in 2021. Photo Courtesy of Comox Valley Conservation Partnership
On May 27, 2021 volunteers with the Millard Piercy Watershed Stewards came upon a startling scene: 65 dead juvenile coho salmon inside a collection box used to temporarily stall and count the fish on their journey to the ocean.
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