Conservation Partner Summary

Fishing for Energy is a partnership consisting of the Covanta Energy Corporation, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. which provides a no-cost solution to fishermen to dispose of old, derelict (gear that is lost in the marine environment) or unusable fishing gear and works to reduce the amount of derelict fishing gear in and around coastal waterways.

Launched in 2008, the partnership continues to work closely with state and local agencies, community and fisherman groups, and local ports to install bins at convenient and strategic locations where fishermen can easily dispose of gear. When these bins fill up, the gear is collected and transported to a nearby Schnitzer Steel facility where the metal (ie. crab pots, gear rigging) is recovered for recycling, and rope or nets are sheared for easier disposal. From there it is brought to a nearby Covanta Energy-from-Waste (EfW) facility where the gear is converted into clean, renewable electricity for local communities.

A New Approach to Reducing Marine Debris

The NOAA Marine Debris Program has identified derelict fishing gear as one of the major types of debris impacting the marine environment. Marine debris in general threatens important living marine resources and their habitat, as well as hinders navigational safety. Derelict fishing gear has been known to continue to “fish” commercially-valuable species targeted by fishermen and can snag on active fishing gear and fishing vessels, creating unnecessary costs to fishermen in both time and money. Derelict gear also catches non-targeted species, including species that may be listed as endangered or threatened. Marine mammals and sea turtles can become entangled and drown, or their health may be impaired if they get caught in pieces of line or net that can cause injury or prevent them from catching prey. Marine habitats, which are smothered when derelict nets sink from the weight of their catch, are further damaged when nets on the bottom are shifted by storms.

This partnership, modeled on a successful multi-partner project in Hawaii involving Covanta, NOAA and Schnitzer Steel, is designed to give fishermen a place to dispose of derelict gear they come across while on the water, and ease the burden of high costs associated with disposing of old fishing gear into landfills. The program also provides the fishing community with a means to become more actively involved in addressing marine debris issues.

Over 350 tons or 700,000 pounds of gear has been collected to-date.

Get involved in the Fishing for Energy program.  Bring Fishing for Energy to Your Community.

If you are interested in partnering with Fishing for Energy, or you are an existing partner, Click here to access important partnership documents.

New Funding Announcement!

We are looking to fund high-impact derelict fishing gear removal and collection projects in the existing ports the program has visited, or in new ports with a significant need for derelict fishing gear collection or removal.  Please see the  Fishing for Energy Fund small grants program RFP to apply for project funding.

Program Statistics To Date

(Data as of 5/10/2010)