Fishing and Outdoor World tackles scourge of discarded fishing line

It’s a critical component of one of the Top End’s favourite pastimes but it’s also a lethal threat to wildlife and can spoil the view on the Territory’s pristine beaches. Here’s what to do about it.

Ronald Voukolos is hoping people will show up with bags of fishing line and know exactly where to dispose of it. Picture: Holly Headon

It’s a critical component of one of the Top End’s most popular pastimes but it’s also a lethal threat to wildlife and can spoil the view on the Territory’s pristine beaches.

So a Darwin business has teamed up with a one of its top suppliers to combat the scourge of discarded fishing line, 36,000km of it.

Fishing and Outdoor World is among the businesses joining forces with supplier Daiwa Fishing Australia for the initiative which sees Zero Waste Boxes placed at the front of stores where anglers can dispose of their fishing wire correctly.

Fishing and Outdoor World part owner Ronald Voukolos said, somewhat ironically, it was a win-win for fishers and the environment in “one of those rare things where there is no catch”.

The family-owned business asks its store managers to seal the boxes and return them via the mail once full.

The boxes are then delivered to TerraCycle, where the fishing line will be processed and transformed into reusable raw materials in the form of plastic pellets.

Daiwa Fishing Australia is hoping to recycle up to 36,000km of fishing line through its initiative. Picture: Holly Headon

Daiwa spokesman Taka Kawasaki said the company came up with the plan because “we always wanted to do something different”.

“We cover all of the fees involved, making it an easy process,” he said.

Mr Kawasaki is confident the initiative will be a long-term project, with an end goal of maximising usage of the plastic pellets in the production of Daiwa’s own lures and tackle storage.

The company conducted a six month trial that ended in April this year where a number of stores were given boxes and instantly received an overwhelmingly positive response.

The boxes, labelled “Fishing Line Recycling Project” can be found in 52 stores nationwide.

Mr Voukolos said fishos could sometimes be a little too laid back about properly disposing of their waste but joining the project was a way to show the community cared about its impact on the environment.