Volunteers Turn Out for Monofilament Madness, Clearing Fishing Line From Fort Myers Beach
Keep Lee County Beautiful's Monofilament Madness brought volunteers to Fort Myers Beach on Saturday morning to pull tangled fishing line and debris from the shoreline — line that can trap and kill marine wildlife.
Fort Myers Beach — Volunteers spent Halloween morning cleaning the beach. Keep Lee County Beautiful's Monofilament Madness ran from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday, with volunteers checking in at Tunaskin and working the shoreline to remove monofilament fishing line and other debris from the water and the sand.
Monofilament line is the cleanup's namesake target: discarded fishing line tangles in mangroves and along the beach, where it can trap birds, sea turtles and other marine life. Volunteers parked at Norm's Beach Parking, at 1397 Estero Boulevard, which was free for the length of the event, organizers said — with parking on the beach very limited because of reconstruction.
A volunteer appreciation luncheon followed the cleanup. The event is one of Keep Lee County Beautiful's recurring shoreline efforts in Lee County, pairing the morning's debris haul with a simple instruction for anglers year-round: cut line belongs in a bin, never in the water.
