Findings of both smallmouth bass and white suckerfish that have both male and female traits continue to rise in Chesapeake Bay area waters.

Findings of both smallmouth bass and white suckerfish that have both male and female reproductive traits continue to rise in Chesapeake Bay area waters.

The latest study, which involved the collection of fish from 16 Pennsylvania river sites, found numerous double gendered, or intersex, specimens.

Of the males taken from a particularly polluted area of the Susquehanna River, 100 percent were carrying eggs.

This isn’t a new phenomenon.

Scientists first began to identify and study such fish in 2003.

Since then analysis has shown that the affected examples had irregular levels of chemical and estrogenic compounds in their systems.

The origins were determined to be pharmaceuticals and herbicides used in farming, as they contain ingredients that can disrupt hormones and reproductive systems.

Over time, researchers have been able to make correlations between intersex fish populations and farm proximity.

What they haven’t yet accomplished is finding the specific chemical or combination of contaminants responsible for the gender shifts.

Scientists cite the lack of specific information about what farms are using to treat crops and livestock as a major obstacle.

Regardless of what’s causing it, many do caution that the fact that it’s happening is cause for serious concern.