Monofilament Madness set for Saturday
Monofilament Madness, a cleanup effort of monofilament line and other debris in area mangroves, will again kick off from host sites Fish-Tale Marina and Mound House this Saturday, Nov. 7.
The Keep Lee County Beautiful Marine Cleanup is an annual event during which volunteers go out in boats, kayaks, canoes, jet skis and, anything else that floats, to remove environmentally harmful fishing line and other harmful marine debris from the waterways and mangrove areas of Lee County.
The volunteers will spend their day cleaning up the mess carelessly left by others in order to raise public awareness about this preventable litter problem and the life threatening circumstances it poses for marine life.
More than 200 boaters, kayakers and jet skiers are expected to launch their boats at safe light (dawn) and continue work until around noon at which time they are treated to a Volunteer Appreciation Barbecue by Sam Galloway Ford at Fish-Tale Marina. Because of the focus on fishing line, the project committee has affectionately dubbed the cleanup, “Monofilament Madness.”
It is hoped that through educational awareness, the people who are causing the problem will be reached and their behavior modified so that, among other reasons, wildlife will be spared agonizing deaths from entanglement in monofilament fishing line.
Spear-heading the project is a committee made up of local business people concerned for our marine life. Major sponsors include Sam Galloway Ford, Fish-Tale Marina, The Mound House, Town of Fort Myers Beach, Advanced Disposal, Southwest Florida Marine Industries Association and Waste Pro. Other sponsors include the Charlotte Harbor National Estuaries Program, Crazy Woman Kayaks and a host of others from the business community.