Fishing for Energy adds Washington port to collection program

Organization provides collection bins to provide free recycling and disposal for derelict fishing gear and marine debris removed from local waters.


The Fishing for Energy partnership, a public-private effort that protects marine wildlife from becoming trapped in lost, abandoned or discarded fishing gear, has announced a partnership with the Port of Grays Harbor’s Westport Marina to recycle an estimated 1,050 crab pots and other marine debris.

The project is being managed by The Nature Conservancy and the Quinault Indian Nation. A new Fishing for Energy collection bin has been placed at the Westport Marina in Westport, Washington.

Fishing for Energy is a nationwide partnership between the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF); the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Debris Program; Covanta, a waste and energy solutions company; and Schnitzer Steel Industries, a Portland, Oregon-based metals recycling and steel producing company. The partnership offers collection bins for disposal of old fishing gear, making it easy for fishing communities to deal with the issue of derelict gear. As a result, the partnership reduces the amount of gear that ends up in U.S. coastal waters, recycles gear made of metal and processes the remaining gear and debris to generate renewable energy at Covanta’s Energy-from-Waste facilities.

The Fishing for Energy partnership provided a partial match to the project to fund the transportation of the unusable gear to Schnitzer Steel’s metal processing facility in Tacoma, Washington. After shredding, any metal will be recycled and the remainder of the marine debris will be transported to Covanta’s facility in Marion County, Oregon to generate electricity for area homes and businesses.

Since launching in 2008, Fishing for Energy has processed more than 3 million pounds of old fishing gear, a portion of which has been retrieved directly from the ocean by fishermen.

Through March 2016, the Fishing for Energy partnership has provided removal services at 48 ports in 10 states, collecting more than 3 million pounds of fishing gear. Through the Fishing for Energy grants fund, close to $1.65 million has been awarded with about $964,000 matched from grantees for 27 projects.