Incentive program paying fishers to remove derelict fishing gear

Fund a derelict fishing gear (DFG) removal program through an incentive scheme with locally-based commercial fishers in Hawaii. DFG (nets, lines, and other fishing gear that have been abandoned, lost, or discarded) makes up 80% of the marine debris in Hawaii, is deadly for marine life from coral reefs to endangered species, and poses significant navigational hazards. The program would use fishers as vessels of opportunity and pay locally-based commercial fishers $1/lb for derelict fishing gear removed from waters surrounding the Hawaiian Islands, intercepting the debris before it impacts marine ecosystems. Green fee funding would facilitate continuation of this project which has already removed 220,000 pounds of marine debris from the ocean in the past 4 years and consequently paid $220,000 directly to fishers for their cleanup efforts.