The New Mess — What can we do?
July 24, 2025
By Bill Marshall, Environment Officer – Coquitlam – and Chair of the National Environment Committee — CanBoat / NautiSavoir. Thanks also to Bluewater Adventures and The Wildlife Rescue Association of BC for photos shown here.
Entangled. You’ve most likely seen those images of whales or seals, ducks or herons tangled up in fishing gear or fishing line. If not – see below. Plastic is nasty. It can last for up to 600 years and still be deadly. Except for possibly a few accidents or snagged lines, most of it used to be tossed overboard without a second thought. We now know that the ocean bottom or the lake or river bottom is not the place for fishing gear. It simply kills. It’s not like the beach where you can easily see it.
We should know, ‘How bad is it?’ Then, ‘What can we do?’
In BC, 15-30 whale entanglements a year have recently been reported. More simply drown without ever being seen. Similar stories emerge on the east coast. A significant portion of the North Atlantic Right Whale population (85%) in the U.S. East Coast and Atlantic Canada has been entangled in fishing gear at least once, and over half has been entangled multiple times, one marine mammal species among many. Warmer ocean waters are pushing more sea mammals northward creating new challenges.
In fresh water, discarded line entraps fish, turtles, diving birds and shore birds. Since we started fishing with filament line, it’s still down there and can cause problems.
How do we stop ourselves from doing this? Perhaps the best approach is to always take a container for “Discarded line and gear” and keep it handy. It’s a good reminder. Most larger centres have recycling programs for it – and possibly your local tackle shop will take it as well.
To report an inland bird or animal you’ll have to find your nearest wildlife rescue group. Many of those can guide you through a rescue attempt and volunteers may be able to help get the animal to a centre. There are some 125 of them across the country.
You could also join or support cleanup efforts. For several years, members of the CanBoat groups in Burnaby and Coquitlam, BC did beyond the shoreline cleanups – sending divers down at popular public docks to raise the junk found down there. Now, in the Lower Mainland area of BC, groups of divers clean up beyond the shoreline in popular spots. More of this would be welcome across the country. Let us know about your underwater cleanups.
By far the biggest cleanup by weight and volume started on the remote west coast partly as a way to save adventure/wildlife cruise companies from the shutdown that COVID caused. Five companies took on the Marine Debris Removal Initiative and collected 61 tons of it. The provincial grant money lasted four years but is no longer available.
https://www.bluewateradventures.ca/rubber-boot-diaries/1606176877.html
To report an entangled sea mammal, note your regional phone number or use VHF Channel 16 — Help is available.
The sad part of these major beach and underwater cleanups is that the plastic just keeps coming. This will be a generational issue. Let’s do whatever we can, wherever we can – regularly.
