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December 5, 2002 DERELICT FISHING GEAR INVENTORY PROJECT BEGINS IN SKAGIT COUNTY Skagit County Marine Resources Committee (MRC) is combining efforts with the Northwest Straits Commission (NWSC) to help locate and remove derelict fishing gear from local marine waters. Over 11,000 pounds of derelict fishing gear have recently been removed from the waters near San Juan and Lummi Islands and much more still remains to be located and retrieved throughout the Puget Sound. The removals are part of the NWSC Derelict Fishing Gear Removal Project that is developing and testing the newly adopted state guidelines to safely and efficiently remove the dangerous and deadly gear from Washington's marine ecosystem. The Skagit County Derelict Gear Inventory Project will provide a local focus for this regional effort and is especially interested in identifying any such gear in the MRC's proposed rocky reef bottomfish marine reserve areas. "It is truly sad, to see the harm that is happening under the beautiful waters of Puget Sound, its reefs and tidelands," said Tom Cowan, director of the Northwest Straits Commission. "It would surprise most people to know that littering the home of salmon, rockfish and crabs are hundreds of tons of fishing nets and lines, crab and shrimp traps and other lost or abandoned fishing gear." "Here in Skagit County, we believe that a collective voice of local folks reporting gear locations together will have greater impact - and cause removal efforts to happen sooner - than if individuals simply call in reports to the hotline one at a time" said Jim Ramaglia, Derelict Gear Sub-committee chair for the Skagit MRC. The public is invited to a public meeting on the problem of derelict fishing gear and the ambitious effort to rid our waters of them on Thursday, December 12 at 7:00 pm in the Anacortes City Hall. A slideshow presentation will be given and the public will be asked to share their local knowledge and experience. Learn more about the history and hazards of derelict fishing gear and about how to report known locations of derelict gear in Skagit County. Reporting forms, maps and other materials will be used. Prior to the public meeting, the MRC will hold its regular, monthly business meeting in the same location from 4 - 6 pm that day. The meeting is open to the public - interested citizens are encouraged to attend - and will discuss the many other projects in which the MRC is involved. Skagit County is one of seven counties with citizen-led Marine Resources Committees. These advisory committees were established in 1998 under the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative to look at strategies and solutions to the depletion of marine life and habitat in northern Puget Sound.
For more information
visit: www.nwstraits.org/derelict_gear Contact: Tom Cowan,
360-428-1085 |