§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what evidence she has received that male fish in inland waterways are changing gender; and if she will make a statement. [48560]
§ Margaret Beckett[holding answer 10 April 2002]: Results of a five-year research programme, funded by NERC, DEFRA, the water industry and the Environment Agency, were published by the agency on 26 March. This followed on from an earlier programme of research, which demonstrated the presence of feminised roach in a number of UK rivers. an apparent relationship between severity of feminisation and proportion of treated sewage effluent in rivers, and implicated natural and synthetic steroids in effluent as the causal agents.
134WThe results of the second phase of research can be summarised as follows:
The continued presence of feminised male roach in several UK rivers was confirmed and reported in a second species, the gudgeon, although to a lesser extent.In laboratory studies, severely feminised male roach produced fewer and less viable sperm than control fish. Consequently their fertility was reduced.The oestrogenic (feminising) components in treated effluents include natural and synthetic steroids and alkylphenol ethoxylates and their degradation products, which may act in combination.Natural steroids degrade rapidly in rivers, but synthetic steroids are more persistent. Some may adsorb on to suspended or bed sediments, although levels were below the limit of detection in field studies in two rivers.There does not appear to be a problem with feminised male fish in every UK catchment and it does not seem to be an issue in Scotland.DEFRA will be discussing these findings with the Environment Agency and the water industry in order to establish any implications for sewage treatment processes.
DEFRA, together with other Government Departments and agencies and the European chemical industry has also funded a programme of research to investigate whether endocrine disruption is occurring in marine life, including in estuaries, around the UK. This programme will conclude this spring.