Michelle Ma has the story in the Seattle Times:
Nearly all of the abandoned fishing nets in Puget Sound that kill marine animals and damage habitat will be removed with the help of $4.6 million in federal stimulus money.
The net-removal efforts are among six projects in the state that will receive $16.5 million for marine and coastal habitat restoration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Tuesday. Nationally, NOAA will distribute $167 million among 50 restoration projects.
Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Foundation will use the money to continue removing derelict fishing nets from the Sound, mostly near the San Juan Islands, said foundation Secretary Ginny Broadhurst.
This is the most money the foundation has ever received for gear removal, and it will allow divers and biologists to fetch about 3,000 lost fishing nets that trap animals and destroy seafloor habitat, she said.
Since 2002, the organization has removed more than 1,200 abandoned fishing nets.
“This is huge. We’ve always been asking ourselves, how are we going to get all of this out of here?” Broadhurst said.
