Every day, improperly discarded fishing line causes devastating problems for marine life and the environment. Marine mammals, sea turtles, fish and birds are injured after becoming entangled, or die from ingesting the discarded line. Swimmers are also at risk from becoming entangled in these almost invisible clumps of line that float just below the surface. Not to mention the damage caused to boat propellers.

In 2002, the Marine Environmental Committee of the Bermuda National Trust launched a programme to encourage recycling of discarded fishing line by providing special recycling bins at various locations across the Island.

This "Monofilament Recovery & Recycling" project was based on a programme initiated by fellow Bermudian Maia McGuire, in Florida. Chairman of the Marine Environmental Committee for the National Trust, Dr. Samia Sarkis says programmes like these have emerged worldwide as a result of the damaging effects of discarded fishing line in the marine environment.

"When underwater, this fishing line is virtually invisible and can last up to 600 years," she elaborates. "Several species of wildlife can become entangled or ingest floating monofilament line which can lead to strangulation, starvation, drowning and limb amputation."

In Bermuda this has included sea turtles and even an infant whale. Also, monofilament line is a hazard when it becomes fouled in boat propellers and can be a life threatening danger to scuba divers, waders and swimmers.

In an attempt to reduce the amount of fishing line that ends up in our waters, the Bermuda National Trust has installed 14 recovery stations at popular fishing spots around the Island.

These can be found at: Dockyard, Watford Bridge, Somerset Bridge, Darrell's Wharf, Devonshire Bay, two at Flatts, Town Cut, Admiralty House, Ely's Harbour, Cavello Bay and Tucker's Town Dock.

"We encourage all those who fish to use the recycle bins for fishing line which they no longer use, instead of leaving it on the rocks or the docks; this will stop any old fishing line to be washed into the sea," she says.

Every month members of the Marine Environmental Committee collect the fishing line from bins and send it periodically to a company in Florida where it is recycled into new fishing line.

Not only is this a form of recycling, but it also stops fishing line ending up in the marine environment. This in turn contributes to reducing the ever growing amount of plastic found in the world's oceans, a problem which is becoming increasingly apparent.

"Plastics in the ocean is a global issue," she says. "Remember that plastic doesn't go away (biodegrade), so every piece of plastic ever manufactured remains on the planet, or in the ocean, forever."

After any storm in Bermuda, the beaches are usually littered with debris washed from the oceans, among these are the obvious larger items made of plastic: "It is the presence of microplastics, which is of great concern. If you look through the Sargassum seaweed on any beach (and it doesn't have to be after a storm), you'll find very tiny pieces of plastic. The big pieces of plastic break down and get small enough to become part of the marine system without us even realising it. They become as small as plankton, the basis of the marine food chain."

Studies in the Pacific show that in some areas you have six times more plastic than plankton. Scientists from the US will be coming to Bermuda at the end of this month to research how much plastic is currently in the Atlantic.

"It's probable that there is as much of a problem in the Atlantic as there is in the Pacific," Dr. Sarkis points out. " Plastics find their way into the marine food chain. At the Bermuda aquarium, there is on exhibit a small jar full of plastic that was found in the stomach of a turtle. The colours and the size mimics some plankton, and become ingested by sea birds, turtles, etc."

Animals, like whales, that take in huge amount of water when they feed on plankton, will at the same time take in huge amount of plastic.

Dr. Sarkis continues: "One of the issues with microplastics, is that they have been shown to absorb organic contaminants, such as PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), concentrating toxins; the consequences of which are potentially extremely serious on marine life."

She explains that a big part of the recycle programme is to encourage the reduction of plastics in general: "It is doubtful that we will be able to fix the current plastic problem in the oceans, but we can do our best to prevent it from getting worse. Think globally, act locally."

This is not limited to fishing line recycling, but can also be done in a number of other ways during our every day routine. You can do this by cutting back on the amount of plastic that makes its way into your trash. This means bringing your own bags when you go shopping, cutting back on bottled water by using filters on your taps and reusable bottle at work and home; using Tupperware type containers for school lunches instead of plastic bags. Also make sure you dispose of all your garbage properly and never leave anything on a beach.

During the year the Marine Environmental Committee will be screening a 12-minute documentary on the issues around plastic in our oceans, with a message to Bermudians on how they can help. It will be broadcast several times on local television. Be sure to check your schedule for times and dates, although Green Pages will try and print these in advance.

Dr. Sarkis concludes that the Marine Environmental Committee is thankful to the Ministry of the Environment for providing the funds for an initial awareness campaign and for recently allowing the expansion of the programme with an additional eight bins, through the environmental grant programme.

Several government departments have been supportive of the programme, granting permission to install the collection stations on their properties - namely the Department of Parks, the Ministry of Works, Engineering and Housing and the Corporation of Hamilton.