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N.B. conservation group installs fishing line collection bins in Hammond River

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NAUWIGEWAUK, N.B. -

A New Brunswick conservation group is working to keep one of the province’s waterways tangle-free with the installation of fishing line collection bins.

Nine of these bins have been put in place by the Hammond River Angling Association, in an effort to keep stray fishing lines from harming the wildlife in the Hammond River - a popular and picturesque destination for fishers and kayakers near Hampton, N.B.

“If you travel throughout the river, unfortunately, sometimes you can find fish tangled, birds tangled in fishing lines, there’s some on electricity poles,” says Abby Christopher, a summer student with the association. “Basically every species you can think of can be affected by it.”

The bins are bright yellow in colour to be easily spotted by fishers looking to get rid of their fishing line in an environmentally-friendly way.

“When they’re done with the line, they should dispose of them in our bins, they’re very easy to see,” says Emma Steadman, who is working as a summer camp counsellor for the association.

“They have a big sign showing what’s happening when they dispose of it properly and how they’re helping the environment and the ecosystem.”

Once the fishing line is collected, it’s sent out to Berkley Fishing in Iowa to be recycled – the Berkley Conservation Institute recycling program has been in place since 1990 and in that time, they have recycled more than 9 million miles of fishing line.

The organization says along with the nine collection bins they have installed themselves, they have also sold six of them to local watersheds in the province – helping to keep the waterways safe for wildlife. ​

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