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costa clean water matters cleanups were a great success in 2022
MLF Fisheries Management Division ’ s partnership with Costa helps keep our fisheries thriving
By Steven Bardin and Gary Klein
The first angler-led trash cleanup I can remember being a part of was in 2008 at Pickwick Lake . At the time , Timmy Horton was the president of the Professional Anglers Association . We thought it was a great way to give back to the community and show that the PAA anglers were forward-thinking when it came to conservation .
We had a dozen anglers show up the day of the cleanup . We all launched our boats and just started picking up everything we could find . At the end of the day , we had several hundred pounds of tires , fishing line , bottles and household trash . We were awarded the BoatUS Foundation Environmental Leadership Award for our efforts at Pickwick that year .
In the 14 years since that first cleanup , conservation awareness has increased , shoreline cleanups have become increasingly popular and several companies have developed rewards programs .
One company that has shown its commitment to reducing trash in our water bodies is Costa , which launched “ Kick Plastic ” – their own trash collection program – in 2015 . “ Kick Plastic ” was aimed at reducing plastic waste through their manufacturing process , educational programs and beach cleanups . Since its inception , Costa ’ s program has cleaned more than 180,000 pounds of trash from beaches and recycled 44,000 pounds of sunglass lenses .
Costa ’ s efforts have helped reduce plastic bottle usage by 3 million bottles . They ’ ve also been instrumental in helping fishing guides understand the impact discarded line can have on the ocean . Costa ’ s commitment to trash cleanup aligned with the Major League Fishing Fisheries Management Division in partnership with Berkley Labs ’ core pillars of education , fish care , fisheries enhancement and research .
fmd teams up with costa
At REDCREST in 2022 , the FMD announced the Costa Clean Water Matters shoreline cleanup program and four sites for the 2022 season . Our focus was to collect trash at host ramps , parking lots , shoreline areas and , when available , use the revolutionary SeaArk Lake Clean Up Boat to clean floating debris from the fishery .
cleanup 1
cleanup 1 — lake of the ozarks , mo .
A little over a month later , the first Costa Clean Water Matters cleanup was held at Lake of the Ozarks during Stage Four of the Bass Pro Tour . Costa anglers Casey Ashley and Kevin VanDam joined FMD , college anglers from the University of Missouri and local high school students to clean PB2 and Pa He Tsi boat launch areas . The SeaArk boat was on site to cover areas not accessible from the shoreline . After four hours , we collected over 300 pounds of trash , covered 4 miles of shoreline and another 2 miles from the SeaArk boat .
PHOTO BY ROB MATSUURA cleanup 2 — james river , va .
Our second Costa Clean Water Matters cleanup was in June at the James River during Stop 5 of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit . Miles Burghoff , Randy Despino , Takayuki Koike , Terry Luedtke , Jimmy Reese and Skeet Reese joined FMD and MLF Marketing Promotions Manager Scott Ellison for the cleanup . We were able to start at the Osborne Landing Marina and cover 2 miles of shoreline as well as parking lots . The shoreline was mainly riprap
cleanup 2
PHOTO BY RACHEL DUBROVIN
12 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2022