No Foolin'! Trawl Net Recycling Program Began at Port of Seattle on April 1st

The first-ever West Coast regional trawl net recycling program began at Port of Seattle's Fishermen's Terminal on April 1. The program offers free or low cost net and metal recycling to commercial fishing customer vessels moored at Fishermen's Terminal, the region's largest commercial fishing facility and home port of the North Pacific fishing fleet.

Participating vessels will be able to deliver nets to Fishermen's Terminal for transport to Skagit River Steel and Recycling Company, based in nearby Burlington. The project reduces solid waste by providing free or inexpensive alternative to landfill disposal, and was funded by a Marine Debris Prevention grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

Nets stripped of metal chain, cable, shackles and floats and delivered free of debris will be recycled free of charge. Fishermen's Terminal and Maritime Industrial Center commercial fishing customers can participate by contacting the Port Office at (206) 728-3395 in advance to arrange logistics. Metal components leftover from the stripped nets will also be recycled onsite at no cost.

Inquiries for low cost recycling of unstripped nets should be directed to Skagit River Steel and Recycling Company at (360) 757-6096.

Commercial gillnets are also accepted free of charge for recycling from customers at Fishermen's Terminal.

Recycling is not new to Fishermen's Terminal - customers also have access to on-site recycling of aluminum, cardboard, ferrous and non ferrous metal, glass, paper, gillnets, used oil, and oily bilge water.

Fishermen's Terminal is owned and operated by the Port of Seattle. The Trawl Net Recycling Program a component of the Port's goal to become the cleanest, greenest, most energy-efficient port in the United States.

For more information call 206-728-3395, send and e-mail or visit the Port's Web site.