Today, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), a partner of the NOAA Marine Debris Program, announced the 2021 Request for Proposals for the Fishing for Energy Partnership. The NOAA Marine Debris Program is pleased to be part of this collaboration, along with NFWF, Covanta, and Schnitzer Steel, to provide up to $500,000 in grant funding this year to support strategies that reduce the impacts of derelict fishing gear on marine and coastal environments and navigational safety. The deadline for full proposals is Tuesday, March 30, 2021. An applicant webinar for more information will be held Tuesday, March 2, 2021 at 3:30-4:30PM Eastern Time.
Fishing for Energy launched in 2008 as a partnership between the NOAA Marine Debris Program, NFWF, Covanta, and Schnitzer Steel. Its goals are to provide a no-cost solution for fishers to dispose of old, derelict, or unusable fishing gear, and to reduce the amount of derelict fishing gear in and around our coastal waterways. In recent years, the partnership has grown and established a new structure that provides greater flexibility for ports to participate in the bin program by allowing them to use additional recyclers and waste-to-energy facilities.
The Fishing for Energy 2021 Request for Proposals will prioritize projects that:
- Maintain an existing port in the program or establish a new port opportunity for fishers to dispose of old, derelict, or unusable fishing gear, including event bins; and
- Develop capacity for comprehensive logistics for port communities interested in implementing a long-term bin program in the future, including exploring opportunities for gear recycling, upcycling, or other alternative disposal options.
The full announcement can be found on the NFWF website.
Naval bases. I think navy boats returning to base should make a mission to stop at places like the pacific garbage patch or other known high debris areas and bring some back with them. They also could easily find ghost nets and get one or two of them