Before casting a line, anglers cast out trash

If you frequent the shoreline of the Red River in Selkirk, you may notice a stretch that's distinctively cleaner.

That's because of the efforts of the Filipino Anglers Association of Manitoba, which collected 14 bags of trash from Selkirk Park Friday night ahead of their first-ever fishing derby, which takes place there next weekend.

This is the third shore cleanup the group has organized, with the first two taking place in Lockport, Man.

Eric Labaupa, the president of the association, said they organize the cleanups to set a good example.

"As an angler myself, if I show up to a place and it's sort of a mess, you might think, 'Oh what's one more coke can?' and might not be as respectful," he said.

"But if you arrive at a place and it's pristine, you might not leave out a plastic bag or minnow tub, you tend to take it with you."

They also want to give back to the shorelines they benefit from, since most of the anglers in the association fish from the shore, he said.

"And if they're using the resource, they want to put back into the resource as well, which includes having a tidy shoreline," he said.

The association plans to do more shoreline cleanups in the future, aiming to do four or five over the next year, Labaupa said. 

For those in the Filipino community, fishing is "ingrained in our blood," Labaupa said.

"Back in our homeland, it's islands, so the water always calls us."

The Red River Shore fishing derby, organized by the Filipino Anglers Association of Manitoba, kicks off next Saturday morning in Selkirk. It is a catch-and-release derby, where anglers fish from the shore.

With files from The Weekend Morning Show