Fishing gear recycling program in Medicine Hat creates new fish habitats. Jayk Sterkenburg/CHAT News

By Jayk Sterkenburg

ENVIRONMENT

Recycled fishing line in Medicine Hat creating new fish habitats

Apr 13, 2025 | 4:45 PM

Thomas James enjoys fishing in Medicine Hat, but in doing so realized that a lot of line and other fishing gear was often discarded in the riverbank, encouraging him to install a proper way to recycle.

James contacted Clear Your Gear, who mitigate the issue of improperly disposed fishing gear through awareness and recycling programs.

James said he hopes to tidy up the waste problem, and save some wildlife at the same time, with a recycling receptacle pipe program.

“Waste line kills wildlife. Entanglement, poisoning, a sort of predation of little birds and small mammals getting caught up in the line,” he said.

“It’s probably a bad way to die. So if we can tidy that up a little bit, prevent that from happening, that’s good,” he added.

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“It’s also unsightly, when people are walking around the riverbanks and they see a fishing line just left on the side of the banks, it’s not nice.”

James said if we can tidy up, look after ourselves and our environment a little bit more, it’s always a good thing.

James installed his fifth recycling pipe in the city since 2023 on Saturday, at the Echo Dale Regional Park boat launch.

He said council has been supportive of the project, and the city has supplied him with wooden posts and gravel to install the pipes.

James said he hopes to tidy up the waste problem, and save some wildlife at the same time, with a recycling receptacle pipe program. Jayk Sterkenburg/CHAT News

The receptacle pipes were provided by CYG, which James said can be sent to volunteers who are willing to maintain and empty them.

CYG was originally founded among conservation organizations to reduce the amount of fishing gear left in the environment, which is often detrimental to wildlife.

The organization says improperly discarded fishing line can last in the environment for up to 600 years.

It says line is the leading cause of entanglement issues for people, property and wildlife.

James said in the past two years he’s collected about three kilograms of line, which he said doesn’t sound like a lot, but is when it comes to fishing line.

He sends it to a Iowa fishing manufacturer in the U.S., who recycles the line and manufactures other products — including tackle boxes, spools and toys.

The raw plastic pellets that are made from the melted recycled fishing line are also made into fish habitats.

CYG says that once in the water, the fish habitats attract fish and plant growth almost immediately.

Courtesy/Clear Your Gear

“Human action has changed breeding grounds in rivers and lakes,” James said.

“The habitat structures that they manufacture from the line go to promote breeding grounds, and improve the environment for the fish.”

James said if you can do something to make the world a better place, then you should.

He said he encourages anybody to use the pipes, whether they’re an angler or not, to keep the riverbanks clear of waste.