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Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Kyle Antonelis, 33, a field biologist research technician for Natural Resources Consultants, Inc., center, and diver Ken Woodside, 30, pull aboard a derelict fishing net known as a purse seine net before combing for live or dead marine life Oct. 9, 2008 while removing abandoned fishing gear from a spot around Lummi Rocks, located on the West side of Lummi Island near Bellingham, Wash. The program is run by the Northwest Straits Initiative, under the direction of Washington's Department of Fish and Wildlife, and removes nets like this one as well as gill-nets and crab pots from the floor of the Puget Sound because it can kill fish, shell fish, marine birds and mammals and pose a safety threat to recreational divers. Some of the nets that have been found have been fairly new to 25 to 30-years-old.
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