Recycling fishing line for marine life

TAMPA - Many people consider Florida to be the fishing capital of the world. But with so many anglers comes a lot of fishing line.

Images of dolphins and turtles tangled in fishing line or nets are disturbing and unforgivable.

"As an environmental scientist, as a person who loves the outdoors, I like wildlife and I feel bad when I see them suffering in a way like that," said Kevin Misiewicz, an environmental scientist with Tampa Bay Watch.

Fishing line causes needless suffering, due to some anglers' improper disposal of it. Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's produced a video on fishing line recycling to put stop the suffering.

A popular reminder of this is Winter the dolphin. Her tale was amputated after it became entangled in fishing line. Most animals aren't as lucky -- especially birds.

Misiewicz explained, "The hooks will get lodged under the wing, the wing gets pinned down, and then they can't fly. If they can't fly, they can't catch food, if they can't catch food they can't feed their young, and often times the whole nest can parish."

There is a way to prevent these disasters: monofilament fishing line recycling bins posted at many major fishing areas.

Misiewicz helps clean the bins. While cleaning, he notes items of garbage that are not supposed to be in it.

"A hook, some aluminum foil, gum wrappers. Obviously these aren't the type of items we want in the monofilament tube. We want stuff like this right here," he explains, as he holds up a tangled clump of monofilament fishing line.

Just drop it inside a bin, and you could save a life.

Richard Charron Jr. stated, "It's more than important, it's extremely important, for the habitat, life, and the sea world."

He has been fishing since he was 3 years old, and he has great respect for marine life, as many anglers do. He recycles.

Richard explained, "Anytime I see somebody has a bunch or it's wrapped up on here, I'll take it and I’ll go ahead and walk it in there and recycle."

Eleven bins line the Gulf Pier at Fort De Soto, so there should be no excuse to leave your line behind to harm our precious natural resource.

Monofilament fishing line is not biodegradable; it does not break down over time. If you aren't by a monofilament recycling bin, then you should cut your fishing line into small pieces, and then throw it away.

You cannot put this line into normal plastic recycling bins due to the high density of it.

To find a monofilament recycling bin near you, just visit www.fishinglinerecycling.org .