TOLEDO, Ohio — Neighbors and Partners for Clean Streams say its important to remember to place discarded fishing lines in collection bins for recycling.
That's because a Monofilament fishing line is incredibly strong and difficult to break down. When left in nature, it can get wrapped around the gills of a fish or other animals can ingest small particles of the line resulting in malnutrition and starvation.
This can cause problems in the environment.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports over one million birds die every year because of marine debris, including fishing line.
James Hill, an avid fisherman in Toledo, says cleaning up debris is important to keep not only ourselves safe, but also the environment.
"Bad pollution can mess up our fish. I mean, us as fishermen, it'll mess up the sport of fishing. Some pollution, if it's bad enough, it could hit the motor while we're driving through, get in the boat, could cause thousands of dollars worth of damage," said Hill.
When it comes to fishing ropes, nets, and line they are considered some of the main contributors to fishing litter. This litter can release hundreds of micro-plastic pieces that can be harmful.
Now, organizations like Partners for Clean Streams are jumping into action.
"We have 45 bins around the area right now, and we want to make sure that we're using those properly, so making sure we're not putting trash in there and making sure that the line's being disposed of properly," said Kayla Kirkpatrick, program coordinator at Partners for Clean Streams.
When it comes to debris it's not always from someone littering, it also happens on windy days.
"So we want to make sure that we're, you know, keeping our trash cans closed and making sure that if it's super windy day that you're taking it out last minute so that you're making sure that your trash isn't being blown around as much as possible," said Kirkpatrick.
You can recycle your fishing lines by putting them in recycle bins labeled "reel in and recycle."
Partners for Clean Streams' big event "Clean Your Streams" is happening on September 28.
For more information, click HERE.
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