Non-profit fears end of funding to recycle used fishing gear in Atlantic Canada

The Fishing Gear Coalition of Atlantic Canada says a four-year agreement with the federal Fisheries Department ends on March 31 and there’s been no indication it will be renewed.

An environmental nonprofit organization that has set up 25 collection sites in Atlantic Canada to recycle tonnes of used fishing gear says it’s at risk of shutting down without more government funding.

The Fishing Gear Coalition of Atlantic Canada says its four-year funding agreement with the federal Fisheries Department runs out on March 31, and there’s been no indication it will be renewed.

Co-executive director Marquita Davis says the coalition received a total of $550,000 through the department’s Ghost Gear Fund in the fiscal year that is coming to an end.

Davis says the gear collection program helps take pressure off local landfills while finding new uses for old lobster traps and crab pots, nets and fishing rope.

A report done by the coalition in 2021 estimated that Nova Scotia’s lobster industry alone purchased, replaced or built about 244,400 lobster traps and 17,890 kilometres of fishing rope annually.

The coalition says it has collected and recycled over 3,400 tonnes of fishing gear since 2021.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 13, 2024.