Courtesy Midcoast Villager

This recent piece by John Blodgett on the Midcoast Villager site offers an excellent rundown of a problem for Maine fisheries — especially for small offshore islands like Matinicus.

The problem is rope!

That is, old worn out rope that must be disposed of. Lobstermen (and women too!) use tremendous amounts of rope in their work. And they get the most out of this rope which is called pot warp. Eventually, however, the rope wears and can no longer be trusted to secure lobster pots or nets. Pushing their ropes to the breaking point would mean the possibility of losing a line of traps or other gear. So the rope is replaced.

In the days of natural fiber rope like hemp or manila, the old rope would be piled up and burned. Not the best solution perhaps, but much more acceptable than burning modern nylon and polyester rope, which are made from petroleum and release nasty plastic into the environment.

Tim Barthelman showing one of WharfWarp’s rope products

One way to recycle old pot warp is to make something new out of it. Tim Barthelman and his wife Janine have been using old rope for years in their business WharfWarp in Freeport, Maine. They make a variety of multicolored products like rope rugs and wall hangings.

A small business like WharfWarp can’t process the large amount of rope discarded by lobstermen every year, however. There is a non-profit called Net Your Problem based in Homer, Alaska, that collects used nets and marine rope. So far the group has been active in eight states in the US and has diverted 2.2 million pounds of lines, rope and nets from being disposed in landfills. Clearly a more comprehensive national program is needed to deal with this problem.