Marine debris is a danger to both the environment and boaters — but cleaning up all the Great Lakes’ debris is no easy weekend task. However, thanks to more than $150,000 in grants and donations, BoatU.S. Foundation will now be able to build on their successful fishing line recycling program, with three new recycling projects aimed at really tackling marine debris in the Great Lakes.
The funds break down like this: a $51,000 grant from the NOAA Marine Debris Program was awarded to BoatU.S. in order to partner with local towing fleets to remove large debris. Specifically, this chunk of change will be used to remove a sunken 35-foot steel commercial fishing boat off Reno Beach, Ohio, and two commercial fishing nets tangled on an artificial reef offshore Ocean City, Maryland.
A grant from the Fishing for Energy program (which is administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation) for $103,000 will also go towards studying and developing tools to cut down on the number of interactions between recreational boats and fixed commercial fishing gear.
For more information, check out BoatUS.org.
