WATER POLLUTION LEADS TO MIXED-SEX FISH

(ENS)-Hermaphrodite fish, that is, fish with both male and female characteristics, are on the rise, due to the birth control pill and other natural and unnatural forms of estrogen that have made their way into the water, according to researchers at the Geological Society of America’s annual meeting in Boston. Feminized male fish were first found downstream from sewage plants in the United Kingdom, and now, “intersex white perch [have been observed] in various locations in the Great Lakes,“ said Chris Metcalfe, professor of Environmental and Resource Studies at Trent University, Ontario. “In the Columbia River, there is a much higher proportion of female salmon than males, indicating that some feminization process may be going on,” he added. He found that very low levels of several estrogen hormones caused intersex and altered sex ratios in the aquarium fish.