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Proposals to finally ban lead in fishing weights, lures and ammunition in Europe have now been released, with plans to phase out its use in certain items over the next few years.

The European Union Commission’s legislative proposal on restrictions of lead in ammunition and fishing tackle including lures and sinkers or shot is based on the extensive work and research by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).

But it has taken into account comments from the European Fishing Tackle Trade Association (EFTTA), which has been working on the ECHA studies since 2019.

EFTTA has agreed with the draft proposals but has suggested that the phase-out time for below 50g and over 50g sinkers should be the same – five years – instead of the proposed three and five years, to avoid unnecessary complications.

It is now encouraging the EU member states to agree that lures made of copper alloys should contain less than a three per cent concentration of lead by weight and that split shot weighing 0.06g or less that is placed on the market is in spillproof and child-resistant packaging.

An EFTTA spokesman said: “EFTTA hears that some member states hesitate agreeing a use ban. They argue it is not enforceable. However, only spot checks are needed, as it happens with regard to control of valid fishing licenses on [the] spot.
“Handheld equipment is available to control lead content on [the] spot. If needed, for legal reasons, more precise instruments can be bought and placed in a few strategic places across the countries to where positive samples can be brought for a follow up check.
“Handheld control equipment also would be very helpful to check imported products suspected of having too much lead content. This concerns not only fishing tackle but a lot of other products, too, including jewellery and toys!”
Lead has been used in ammunition for hunting and sports shooting and in fishing tackle for centuries. It is estimated that around 44 000 tonnes of lead are dispersed into the EU environment from these uses each year, with 11 per cent of this coming from fishing activities.

The ECHA says the use of ammunition or fishing tackle containing lead is known to cause lead poisoning of wildlife, such as birds while people’s health may also be affected by the residual lead present in game killed using lead ammunition, or when making lead ammunition or fishing sinkers or lures at home.

If the current releases of lead from these activities continue, approximately 876,000 tonnes of lead would end up in the environment over the next 20 years, it argues. But the restrictions could reduce that amount by 72 per cent or 630,000 tonnes over the next two decades.

www.eftta.com