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Recommendation to, by motion of the City Council, refer to the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Marine Advisory Committee, the Monofilament Recovery and Recycling Project for possible expansion to all areas where fishing is allowed in Long Beach and to encourage a partnership with the Aquarium of the Pacific in developing an educational program on this issue.
DISCUSSION
Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske established a Lakes, Ponds and Wetlands Task Force in 2007 to address residents’ concerns about the need for stewardship of the wildlife, birds, fish and water fowl, as well as the lakes and parks which support them, in Long Beach. As part of the work of the task force, the members have done lake clean ups in El Dorado park and routinely walked the lakes to retrieve fishing line and tackle, which has been left behind and which unfortunately has injured rare birds.
Members of the Lakes, Ponds, and Wetlands Task Force have also raised concerns about the impact of fishing line and tackle left at other fishing spots in Long Beach such as the piers, docks and marinas.
With the assistance of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine and Berkeley Pure Fishing (a fishing supply company), a “Monofilament Recovery and Recycling Project (MRRP)” was launched at the fishing lake in El Dorado Park. This project includes the placement of recycling tubes near where fishing takes place so that monofilament line and tackle can be discarded and then sent to Berkeley Pure Fishing and recycled. The monofilament line is recycled into plastic pellets and turned into fishing tackle boxes.
The original project was started in the State of Florida (www.fishinglinerecycling.org
) but also includes placement of recycling tubes and educational signs at lakes, piers, docks and marinas. It is also supported by www.Boatus.com and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (
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