A new energy source: ghost fishing gear

By Beth Daley, Globe Staff

You probably won’t encounter them as you catch ocean waves this summer, but they are off the coast: Ghost fishing nets that can wreak havoc on marine life.

Every year, fishermen lose or abandon tons of fishing nets and lines, lobster traps and crab pots off the nation's coast, which can snag on shipwrecks, clutter shipping lanes and entangle whales.

Fishing for Energy in New Bedford

Now, an alliance among a power plant company, the federal government and environmentalists is doing something about it. The group has started a "Fishing for Energy" program, which collects derelict or unusable fishing gear and burns it to create energy.
Earlier this month, Scituate became the third seaport in the state, behind Gloucester and New Bedford, to collect the gear.

Covanta Energy, which owns a waste to energy power plant in Haverhill, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Debris Program, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation partnered to place giant waste bins near fishing docks where everyone from fishermen to local harbormasters can dump outdated gear or other fishing debris they find along the shore. Then Covanta Energy pays for it all to be brought to Haverhill to create energy.

Approximately one ton of derelict marine debris produces enough electricity to power one home for 25 days. Since the program’s February launch, some 30 tons of fishing nets, trawl gear, crab pots and line have been collected and converted into energy, according to Covanta.

Now, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation hopes to expand the program to other ports around the country.

"We look forward to expanding this innovative program into new regions, where both fishermen and the environment will benefit form the service it provides,'' said Jeff Trandahl, executive director of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

For more information call: www.covantaenergy.com, www.noaa.gov and www.nfwf.org