Extra Fishing Line Bins for the Swan River

By Cameron Gair

More fishing line bins will be placed along the Swan River to protect wildlife from angling waste.

The Swan River Trust last year joined forces with Recfishwest, Native Animal Rescue, Clean Marine and five riverfront councils to distribute 20 bins to popular fishing hotspots around the Swan Canning Riverpark.

In the past there have been cases of improperly discarded fishing line causing the death of dolphins and birdlife.

In a media statement the Swan River Trust manager Chris Mather explained the purpose behind the program.

“Three Riverpark dolphins have died as a result of injuries caused by fishing waste in the last five years.

“We hope the bins will encourage river users to correctly dispose of unwanted fishing line and tackle,” Mr Mather said.

The media release quoted the CEO of Recfishwest  Dr Andrew Rowland saying he hopes to educate the wider community about the importance of correctly disposing fishing line.

“All responsible fishers know the damage discarded fishing line can cause to wildlife and the majority of them are out there doing the right thing,” said Dr Rowland.

The bins are made of recyclable material and aim to provide a safe and easy way to dispose of angling waste.

Since the introduction of the bins thousands of kilometres of fishing line have been retrieved.

Recreational fisher Connor McCutcheon frequently fishes under the Canning and Mill Point Road bridges and says the bins are a great idea.

“I see people using them all time, but I still notice quite a bit of fishing line lying around.”

“Just seeing the bins made me think more about doing the right thing not that I would leave fishing line everywhere before, I’m just more conscious about it now. ” he said

Mr McCutcheon believes more bins would be very useful.

“There are plenty of other fishing spots I know that could do with a couple of bins. I think it’s mainly about increasing awareness of the horrible impact fishing line can have on animals.”