The Fishing for Energy programme is design to encourage the removal of abandoned fishing gear from coastal waters and the proper disposal of equipment that fishermen plan to discard. Fairfield, N.J.-based Covanta Energy estimates that one ton of marine debris can generate enough fuel to power a home for 25 days. The programme is schedule to start this month in the state’s two biggest fishing ports, New Bedford and Gloucester.
Kristin Decas, the executive director of the New Bedford Harbor Development Commission, said that the measure would keep the debris out of the marine environment and it is the best way to show that commercial fishermen are protective and support the ocean environment.
Decas informed that a trash container has been placed at city’s transfer station which will transport the discarded fishing gear from the docks to the transfer station. From there Covanta will take the debris to one of its incinerators to generate power. The progammes has been coordinated by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation with the help of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
