Fishing for Energy initiative is the program provides commercial fishermen a cost-free way to recycle old and unusable fishing gear. Gear, such as rope and fishing nets collected at the Co-op will be processed into clean, renewable energy at the Covanta Union Energy-from-Waste facility in Rahway, NJ. The New Jersey Seafood Cooperative is the new one to adopt the program.
Fishing for Energy is a partnership between the Morristown, NJ-based Covanta Energy (Covanta), the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Debris Program, and Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc.
Metal items are recycled at Schnitzer Steel Industry facilities and the remaining material is converted into renewable energy at Covanta Energy-from-Waste facilities. Deputy Mayor Brightill said that the program dovetailed perfectly with township efforts to live greener. She also noted Middletown is a Sustainable Jersey certified municipality. She told that the abandoned or lost fishing equipment can threaten marine life in a number of ways; by damaging ecosystems as nets and heavy equipment settle upon the ocean floor or through ‘ghost fishing,’ wherein a net continues to catch fish, even if abandoned or lost.
She informed that gear can also impact navigational safety, damage fishing equipment and boats that are in use, and have economic repercussions on fishing and shipping enterprises and coastal communities. This Fishing for Energy program can be successful when there is good cooperation between government, private, public and local organizations. This program addresses a marine environmental issue, reduces costs for small commercial fishing businesses and recycles metal and recovers energy from the remaining material.
