Used fishing gear recycling program in jeopardy as funding dries up 

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."

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.

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.