Iconic Rotorua Fishery Could Be Lost To Toxic Fluoride

The requirement of the Health Department to put toxic Fluoride in the Rotorua City water supply could spell the death of the iconic trout fishery according to Alan Simmons a life long angler, author and President of the New Zealand Outdoors & Freedom Party.

"Fluoride is an extremely toxic waste product from fertiliser works and contains many other poisonous chemicals such as arsenic, lead and trace amounts of radioactive isotopes,” said Alan Simmons. “Studies overseas warn about the toxicity of fluoride to the freshwater aquatic ecosystem.”

He cited a US paper which stated Freshwater invertebrates and fishes --- appear to be sensitive to fluoride toxicity” and that fluoride can enter the food chain. A 2023 Australian technical brief on fluoride said trout and named rainbow trout in particular as sensitive to fluoride toxicity.

“Interestingly the 2023 technical brief was supported by the New Zealand government yet a year later the Ministry of Health is advocating fluoride for Rotorua’s water supply. Clearly the ministry has not done its homework or has a short memory,” said Alan Simmons.

In a recent paper he prepared for the Eastern Fish and Game Council Alan outlined how rainbow trout were effected by low doses of fluoride in the water.

“Lake Rotorua was a shallow warm volcanic lake and much of the fluoridated water reaching the lake is from runoff as an example, from washing the car or watering the garden.”

Alan Simmons said the subject of fluoride’s toxicity in the environment had little research. Consequently he has called on the Rotorua Council and the Eastern Fish and Game Council to undertake serious research before complying with the Health Departments proposal. The lake has a number of factors not present in other areas and some overseas research points to a possible problem for the fishery and in turn the economic viability of the Rotorua region. The rainbow trout is important too the tourism of the area both from domestic (New Zealanders) and international tourist anglers fishing the lake.

"The one size fits all edict of the Health Department does not allow for regional variations,” he said. “And with so little known about the effects on the aquatic life, the effects will be almost irreversible. Not just trout are susceptible but almost certainly native fish, koura, freshwater molluscs and all of the aquatic food chain including plant life. The Department of Conservation should be concerned at the potential adverse impact of fluoride on the freshwater ecosystem which takes in native species as well as trout".

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