Fishing for Energy 2011 Partnership Activities

Covanta Energy, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Adminstration's (NOAA) Marine Debris Program, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and Schnitzer Steel initiated the Fishing for Energy Partnership in 2008 to offer no-cost solutions to fishermen to dispose of old, derelict, or unusable fishing gear and works to reduce the amount of fishing gear in and around coastal waterways across the United States. During 2011, FFE was successful in having four port cities join the partnership and holding cleanup events:

Mattituck, NY: Restoration of the Long Island Sound marine habitat took a major step forward with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s announcement of two grant awards to Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County (CCE) to identify and remove more than 260,000 pounds of marine debris, including abandoned lobster pots, from the Sound. Through these awards, provided by the Fishing for Energy Fund and Long Island Sound Futures Fund, CCE will employ up to 45 local lobstermen to identify and remove derelict fishing gear, reclaiming more than 40,000 acres of the sea floor of the Long Island Sound.

Miami-Dade, FL: Fishing for Energy expanded to Florida with the Black Point Marina in Miami as the first harbor to join the initiative in the state. In July, volunteers collected over 1.17 tons of marine debris such as derelict crab pots as well as other debris in the bay that was sent for recycling and energy recovery at Covanta Dade Renewable Energy in Doral, FL owned by Miami-Dade County.

Everglade City, FL: The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recently partnered with Fishing for Energy to remove derelict stone crab traps from the marine environment near Everglades City, FL on September 9, making it the second location in Florida to join the unique partnership. The collected gear was brought to the Lee County Solid Waste Resource Recovery Facility, operating as Covanta Lee in Fort Myers, to be recycled and converted into renewable energy.

Bedford, NJ: The New Jersey Seafood Cooperative of Belford is the latest addition to the Fishing for Energy initiative, the program providing commercial fishermen a cost-free way to recycle old and unusable fishing gear. Gear, such as rope and fishing nets collected at the Co-op will be processed into clean, renewable energy at the Covanta Union in Rahway, NJ. At a ceremony held on August 12 at the Belford Seafood Cooperative, the partnership installed a collection bin for old, abandoned or lost fishing gear from area commercial fishermen.

In total, 29 locations in eight states have participated in the program since 2008. To date, close to 1.3 million pounds of gear gas been collected.

Fishing for Energy Fund 2011 Grant Awards

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) provides funding on a competitive basis to projects that sustain, restore, and enhance the Nation's fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats. NFWF’s strategic plan organizes grantmaking efforts into three broad areas: Keystones, Charters, and Ventures. Here is a list of programs that received grant awards during 2011:

Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation will detect and remove marine debris from the waters of Maine and New Hampshire. The project will focus on a major in-water lobster trap clean-up and accumulated debris at the Isle of Shoals and nearby beaches.

Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation will conduct four at-sea derelict trap recovery days involving 20 fishing vessels and captains, targeting submerged lost gear. Project will offer four additional voluntary gear collection opportunities to on-going effort.

Cornell Cooperative Extension Association of Suffolk County will expand a pilot project’s at-sea removal of derelict lobster traps by employing commercial lobstermen and operating out of two new ports. The project will also increase awareness on the issue to the broader fishing community.

University of Florida will detect and remove marine debris from the from the south Florida reef tract and implement marine debris recovery and outreach efforts in sensitive and impacted areas of Biscayne Bay, Florida.

Covanta facilities that have participated in the Fishing for Energy program:

For more information on Fishing for Energy visit: www.nfwf.org/fishingforenergy.