NOAA Featured Project

Monofilament Recovery and Recycling Program of Puerto Rico, University of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico

Marine Debris Program Grant: $36,621; Partner Contributions: $110,823
The University of Puerto Rico Agricultural Extension Service is planning to implement the first monofilament recovery and recycling program in Puerto Rico. The need to reduce marine debris, such as monofilament fishing gear, is stated in the coastal management plan for the government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and is of a high priority for the island. The University of Puerto Rico Agricultural Extension Service is going to assist in the removal of monofilament fishing line by having volunteers construct and install 45 monofilament recovery stations throughout Puerto Rico (including Vieques and Culebra) at various high-volume fishin g spots. All of the line collected in these 45 bins will be shipped to a monofilament recycling compound that will create usable material out of the monofilament waste. In addition to the recovery stations, the University of Puerto Rico is also planning on creating a media campaign that will inform the public about the harms of marine debris and what they can do to reduce the presence of marine debris in Puerto Rico. It is the hope of the University of Puerto Rico Agricultural Extension Service that at the end of this project the amount of monofilament fishing line entering the coastal waters will have decreased.