Berkley® Turning Recycled Line into “Fish Habs”

Reprinted by permission of Pure Fishing Corporate Communications  http://www.berkley-fishing.com/home.cfm

Artificial, Underwater Habitat Structures Free With 75 UPC Codes From Berkley Lines

Spirit Lake, IA. -- What to do with recycled nylon monofilament had become a serious question for Berkley®, the world’s leading manufacturer of fishing line and makers of Trilene. In fact, since it began recycling line in 1990, Berkley has collected more than seven million miles of monofilament, enough to wrap around the world over 280 times.

Now that line is going back into the water . . . . in the form of Berkley Fish Habs.

The Berkley Fish Hab™ is an artificial, underwater habitat structure made of used and recycled monofilament fishing line and other post-consumer materials like plastic milk jugs and soft drink bottles. Once in the water, the Fish Hab attracts fish and plant growth almost immediately. It’s the perfect solution for rejuvenating older reservoirs, ponds and streams devoid of the natural cover essential to the growth and development of a healthy fish population.

The Fish Hab is available to everyone -- clubs, pond owners, anglers, communities or anyone interested in improving the aquatic habitat. The Fish Hab is free with 75 UPC codes from Berkley fishing line packages. Simply cut the UPC codes from line spools and collect them for yourself or local aquatic rejuvenation projects.

Field research and development of the Fish Hab began in 1993. With the help of fisheries management and recycling professionals, the first prototypes were designed and tested in Spirit Lake, IA. Today, fish are still found near these initial structures.

Berkley has worked with members of the American Fisheries Society and staff from the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish & Wildlife service to determine the optimum color and design of the Fish Hab, which can today be found in lakes across the U.S.

If left in the environment, discarded fishing line can be a potential hazard to wildlife. Berkley has turned it into a real benefit for fish -- and fishing. The used line you drop at your local tackle dealer is recycled and turned into a Fish Hab, a non-degradable structure that is completely safe and stable in the aquatic environment. Since its inception, Berkley’s Line Recycling Center has received thousands of pounds of discarded fishing line from environmentally conscious anglers and fishing tackle retailers.

The 4-foot cube-like Fish Hab structure is designed to be assembled in minutes at the placement site. Fish Habs can be attached to each other to make various shapes and accomodate different placement situations. The completed unit is lightweight and easy to anchor under water.

What others say about Berkley’s Fish Hab:

“Reef structures made from recycled fishing line, what a wonderful idea. I will use the Berkley Fish Habs on the Lake Havasu Restoration Project to boost crappie populations.” -- Larry Forbis, Aquatic Systems Advisor, Anglers Unlimited

“Congratulations to Berkley for inventing Fish Hab, one of the most innovative recycling techniques ever designed. In addition, it creates new fish habitat. The Black Bass Foundation has chosen the Fish Hab as its Restoration project in 1997.” -- Tom Rodgers, President/CEO, Black Bass Foundation

“Lake Rathbun is known as one of the premier crappie fisheries in the Midwest. Habitat protection and development are an important part of our management strategy and we have shifted to a more ‘angler-based’ practice. The use of the Berkley Fish Habs provides us with an easily-deployable, long-lasting habitat, particularly in portions of the lake where identifiable structure is lacking.” --Mark Flammang, District Fisheries Management Biologist, Iowa DNR

To order a Fish Hab, simply mail 75 FireLine and/or Trilene UPC codes, or $75 (includes shipping), to: Berkley Fish Hab, Berkley Environmental Projects, 1900 18th St., Spirit Lake, IA. 51360-1099.