Used fishing gear recycling program in jeopardy as funding dries up
Coalition says it needs one more year to create a self-funded, cost-effective and sustainable program
A non-profit group that helps recycle used fishing gear across Atlantic Canada, including five collection sites on Prince Edward Island, may have to shut down at the end of the month.
The Fishing Gear Coalition of Atlantic Canada said its four-year funding agreement with the federal fisheries department runs out on March 31.
The organization said it needs one more year of money to create a self-funded, cost-effective and sustainable program for the industry.
Co-executive director Sonia Smith said the coalition, which is made up of fishing associations, environmental groups and some manufacturers, collects the used gear for free and finds recyclers for the materials.
"When we have to put different waste in the landfills, they fill up faster, especially when it's large waste like fishing gear, like rope, like crab pots and lobster traps," Smith said.
"They're big, they're bulky and they take up a lot of space. And for the most part, they are made of a lot of plastic products that do not break down. They create micro-plastics lasting for hundreds of years in our environment."
Recycling used rope
Smith said the organization started by looking at the materials used in the fishery on P.E.I., and potential ways for them to be recycled.
On P.E.I., many fishers use a wood-style trap, with some wire tops and bottoms, depending on what part of the province they fish.
"We have metal recyclers that can responsibly accept the wire from those traps and recycle it," said Smith.
"We also have found a recycler that can accept all of the rope that is being used in the commercial fishing and aquaculture industries as well as some of the netting."
She said they also did a small pilot where they collected lobster traps, and looked at different solutions for disposing of them. They have done some testing of mussel socks as well, but both of those are still works in progress.
She said, to date, collecting used fishing rope has been the most successful project, with more than 43 tonnes collected, as well as 12 tonnes of wire traps in 2023.
The coalition said it received a total of $550,000 through the department's Ghost Gear Fund in this fiscal year.
Smith said the funding covered the cost of the collection of the material at the Island waste depots, and then the transportation costs to get it to the recyclers.
'We still need just a little more time'
Smith said the Fishing Gear Coalition based its program on others like it, like P.E.I.'s programs for recycling tires, electronics and used oil.
"We were able to design a very similar program where we can add a small fee at point of sale on the product, on the cost of the rope, on the cost of the netting, on the cost of the wire that's used in the trap building," she said.
That would make the program a self-funded, cost-effective and sustainable, she said. "We still need just a little more time."
"At that point, we feel that we would be 100 per cent ready to implement our permanent regulated program in the province of P.E.I."
Supporting all of the Maritime provinces would require around $500,000, she said, or about $100,000 just for P.E.I.
Significant interest
Heather Myers, disposal manager with Island Waste Management Corporation, said the pilot project was well received on Prince Edward Island.
"The fishing gear, ropes and netting does take up a lot of space in the landfill and also it can be detrimental to the landfill equipment, wrapping around the wheels of the compactor or the loader," Myers said.
The program was popular, but "We would have liked to have more interest for sure, because I think there's a lot more rope and netting out there that could have come in for for recycling."
All together, she said IWMC took in about 40 tonnes of rope and netting for recycling
Obviously it would be wonderful to have continuation of the program, and get the end of life fishing gear out of the landfill.—Heather Myers, Island Waste Management Corporation
Myers said IWMC is working on a final report and hope to know within the next month whether or not it's feasible and sustainable to carry on with the program.
"Obviously it would be wonderful to have continuation of the program, and get the end-of-life fishing gear out of the landfill," Myers said.
"Even if it is just the nets and rope to start with, that's better than nothing and we can build on that."
In a statement to CBC News, a spokesperson for Fisheries and Oceans Canada said the Ghost Gear Fund has supported 140 projects at a cost of about $57.8 million.
"We thank our partners for their great work to date, which includes retrieving over 2,214 tonnes of lost gear and 857 km of rope, as well as developing end-of-life gear recycling facilities.
"At this time, DFO does not have an update on future funding for the Ghost Gear Fund," the statement said.
In September 2022, the federal government targeted $30 million to the Ghost Gear Hurricane Fiona Recovery Fund to retrieve marine debris abandoned, lost or discarded by the storm.
The P.E.I. Fishermen's Association has been collecting ghost gear as part of the federal program. A spokesperson said they are hoping the funding for the program is extended, and have made that request to the federal government.