Pesticide banned in oyster farming
April 24, 2018
By
Liza Mayer
The Washington Department of Ecology has banned a pesticide that was approved two years ago for oyster growers to kill burrowing shrimp.
The department said it made the decision after a lengthy evaluation of the environmental impacts of the pesticide, imidacloprid. The pesticide belongs to a class of chemicals called the neonicotinoids, which act on the central nervous system of insects.
The state announced Monday that it is too harmful to the ecosystem and decided to deny a request for its approval.
“The science around imidacloprid is rapidly evolving and we can’t ignore it. New findings make it clear that this pesticide is simply too risky and harmful to be used in Washington’s waters and estuaries,” state Ecology Director Maia Bellon said in a press release.
The pesticide in oyster farms causes significant negative impacts to water quality, crustaceans in the area, and affects fish and birds by killing sources of food, the state said earlier.
Washington State has banned the use of imidacloprid in oyster farms 
