Group calls for old fishing gear cleaned up
Posted June 13, 2012 6:52 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
SEATTLE (NEWS1130) – As the death of a whale in White Rock on Tuesday shines a spotlight on the health of our oceans, our government is being urged to get to work, pulling old fishing gear out of the water.
The cleanup is happening in Washington state, but environmentalists say it’s a different story here in Canada.
The whale in White Rock was entangled in some kind of line, and the Georgia Strait Alliance believes we can help prevent other sea creatures from meeting the same fate.
Executive Director Christianne Wilhelmson says in Puget Sound off Seattle, more than $4.6 million has been spent collecting 4,081 derelict fishing nets, and another 2,668 lost crab traps. She believes here in BC, we’re way behind.
“It’s labour-intensive. It’s not easy, but it can be done,” suggests Wilhelmson. “You need qualified divers, you need the boats, and you have to go down and you have to collect it. That’s what they’re doing in Washington,”
She tells us the results in Puget Sound have been great for the Northwest Straits Derelict Fishing Gear Removal Program and suggests we look to them for assistance.
“A partnership with groups in Washington State would be fantastic to see because they have the expertise. They’ve had the success. And if we could bring them in to this side of the water and start the long process of collecting derelict fishing gear, hopefully we’ll never see this kind of scene again,” says Wilhelmson, referring to the White Rock whale’s tragic story.
Washington State established the derelict fishing gear removal program in Puget Sound in 2002.
