Planning and Standard Operating Procedures for the Use of Rotenone in Fish Management: Rotenone SOP Manual, 2nd Edition

Preface

doi: https://doi.org/10.47886/9781934874493.fmatter

Rotenone was first used as a piscicide in the United States and Canada in the 1930s. Prior to the passage of the amendment to the Federal Insecticide, Rodenticide and Fungicide Act of 1970, rotenone and other pesticides were regulated in the United States by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and rotenone was first registered in 1947. In 1970, pesticides became regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Registration now requires physical, chemical, public health, and environmental data to demonstrate effectiveness at appropriate concentrations of the intended use and to allow for assessments of risk estimating the impacts to human health and the environment. In 1988, all pesticides, including rotenone, registered before November 1, 1984 were put into a reregistration process requiring the generation of data to support continued registration. After the necessary risk assessments for rotenone were completed, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued the Reregistration Eligibility Decision in March 2007 (EPA 738-R-07-005). As a condition of the reregistration requirements, a manual was requested by EPA that contained procedures, specifically on how to minimize nontarget exposure and effects and to provide guidance on the label directions. With the approved reregistration came several significant technical changes in how rotenone will be used as a tool in fish management. These changes are incorporated into Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in the Manual that provide guidance on how to comply with the label and use rotenone in a safe and effective manner. The American Fisheries Society’s Fish Management Chemicals Committee, in cooperation with the rotenone registrants and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, developed the 2nd edition.