Volunteer boaters can join Monofilament Madness & Environmental Expo this weekend

FORT MYERS – The Keep Lee County Beautiful Marine Cleanup annual event is slated for Saturday, Oct. 26, for volunteers to go out in boats, kayaks, canoes, paddleboards and personal watercraft to remove monofilament fishing line and other harmful debris from Lee County’s mangrove shorelines.

Volunteers will pick up trash from 8 a.m. to noon Oct. 26, and then they can bring the debris and join others for a Volunteer Appreciation Barbecue by Sam Galloway Ford at Fish-Tale Marina, 7225 Estero Blvd., Fort Myers Beach. Volunteers without watercraft can contact Lee County Parks & Recreation to help clean up mangrove sites accessible by foot.

A speakers program at the Volunteer Appreciation Barbecue will be held during lunch and will include a question and answer session by cleanup partners. Because of the focus on fishing line, the project committee has affectionately dubbed the cleanup “Monofilament Madness.”

Marine debris will be weighed, measured and tallied to help raise awareness and buoy an education campaign targeting anglers and boaters about the impact of such debris on wildlife.

For more information call (239) 707-3015 or visit the Keep Lee County Beautiful website. No sign up is necessary but volunteers are encouraged to bring their collected debris to Fish-Tale.