Summer 2023 – Gillnet Recycling Schedule
CRWP will be hosting four Fishing Gear Recycling Events in 2023. The events will take place at the Cordova Refuse Department Baler on Whitshed Road.
Event Hours: 10 am – 3 pm
Collection Events are for gillnets, seine web, lead lines, and cork lines. All parts of the net must be separated to be accepted.
Need to recycle nets or lines outside of an event? Or do you have other fishing gear you are interested in recycling? Contact CRWP at (907) 424-3334 or email shae@copperriver.org.
Help us with a logo design for the Fishing Web Recycling Program!
CRWP is developing a logo that can be used by fishermen, direct marketers, net hangers, and businesses that recycle their nets. The idea is to create a signal that lets customers know that when they support your business, they are supporting a business that recycles fishing nets. This is a similar concept to the “Made in Alaska” logo.
Everyone that participates in the survey will be entered in a prize drawing for local gift certificates! The drawing will be held on December 9th, 2022.
How full is our 40′ shipping container with nets for recycling?
Fishing Web Recycling Program
We have been making some very exciting progress at CRWP to re-launch our fishing web recycling program! The baler that we purchased with funds from the Rasmuson Foundation to expand recycling capacity has been installed in Cordova and has been baling nets since 2021!
Alaskans use about 800,000 to one million pounds of fishing web in their nets per year. Most old web gets dumped in community landfills, shortening a landfill’s useful life and adding expense to municipal operations. Salmon gillnets and seines are made from nylon, which can be re-processed to manufacture new products like telephones, computer parts, toothbrushes, carpeting and bicycle seats, among others.
HOW:
Rules for Recycling Web:
- Strip of corklines, weedlines, leadlines, and hanging twine.
- Clean web of any organic matter.
- Bundle in a piece of scrap web.
CRWP accepts the following material for recycling:
- gillnet web
- seine body and lead web
- poly-chafing gear from seines (must be separated).
Drop off gillnets during Fishing Web Collection Events. CRWP will host 3-4 events per year. If you are unable to participate in events or need to recycle seine nets contact the CRWP office at (907) 424-3334 to coordinate dropping off your web.
The Copper River Watershed Project is overseeing a fishing web recycling effort that was started by the Cordova District Fishermen United, the Marine Advisory Program, Native Village of Eyak, and the Prince William Sound Science Center. Funding for the recycling was initially provided by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
CRWP would like to thank the City of Cordova, Alaska Marine Lines, the Native Village of Eyak, Net Your Problem, and Grundéns for their partnerships in helping us facilitate the Fishing Web Recycling program and the Rasmuson Foundation, Copper River/Prince William Sound Marketing Association, The Alaska Community Foundation, and The Eyak Corporation, for their financial contributions. We couldn’t do it without this support and are very excited to see this program continue to grow!
