Fishing for Energy

Earlier this week, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) announced the 2019 Request for Proposals from the Fishing for Energy Partnership. The NOAA Marine Debris Program is pleased to be part of this collaboration, along with NFWF and Covanta Energy Corporation, to support the availability of up to $1 million in grant funding 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 Thursday, April 25, 2019.

We’ve spent the last year highlighting marine debris projects in various regions of the country. However, the NOAA Marine Debris Program also supports efforts that are national in scope. Check out some of the national projects that are currently underway:

The BoatU.S. Foundation is working to remove debris in both the Mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes regions. With support from a NOAA Marine Debris Program Community-based Marine Debris Removal Grant, they are working with two TowBoatU.S. towing and salvage partners to remove two large nets in Ocean City, Maryland, and to remove a derelict vessel in Lake Erie.

Marine debris is a pervasive problem throughout the United States. In the Northeast, it’s no different. Luckily, there are several projects underway to combat this problem. Focusing on prevention, the ultimate solution to marine debris, two of these more recent projects use education to stop debris in its tracks.

The From Shore to State House project, led by the University of Hartford and supported by the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP), has developed a college-level course which introduces students to marine debris. Students learn about the subject, participate in cleanups, and then talk to their local legislators about marine debris policy. The best part? The course materials are open-source, so other college instructors can replicate the program.

On Friday, February 26^th, the NOAA Marine Debris Program and its partners held an event in Waretown, New Jersey, to highlight an exciting derelict crab pot removal effort in Barnegat Bay. The event highlighted a project, led by the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey and supported by a NOAA Marine Debris Program Community-based Marine Debris Removal grant, which is working to identify, retrieve, and inventory over 1,000 derelict crab pots from Barnegat Bay, N.J.

Covanta partnered with the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey to provide two bins for collecting the retrieved derelict gear, to then haul and dispose of at their waste-to-energy facility. 

The 2015 Fishing for Energy Partnership grant awards support projects to help commercial and recreational fishermen and boaters reduce the amount of fishing gear lost in the marine environment.