"Is churning up hundreds of square meters of river bottom worth the 3.4 ounces of gold the average dredger collects in a season?" inquires fisheries professor Peter Moyle, of the University of California at Davis. ![]() But somehow no aquatic biologist I've spoken with or heard about suggests that ripping out streambeds is anything but an ecological disaster. What's more, all dredgers I've consulted claim their machines rid rivers of trash, lead sinkers and mercury. Every day that we come back to our mining spots our friends (the fish) are waiting for us." "More young fish survive in slightly dirty water than clear water simply because they can hide better," he declared.Īnd California suction dredger Ron Holt offers this defense: "We loosen impacted gravel beds for optimum spawning, and … the depressions we leave provide cold water resting spots for migrating fish, thus relieving gill rot. For example, the president of Oregon's Waldo Mining District, Tom Kitchar, has informed me that by kicking up plumes of muck, dredgers actually save fish. I have it from the suction dredgers that their hobby is an elixir for whatever ails rivers. ![]() With a 4-inch-diameter hose, you vacuum up what's on the bottom of rivers – stuff like gravel, woody debris, plants, mussels, snails, insect larvae, crayfish, frogs, salamanders, fish eggs, fish fry and, occasionally, gold. Required equipment: gasoline-powered dredge, sluice box, wetsuit and scuba gear. Suction dredging for gold is basically a recreational activity.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |