CATCHING ON:
Environment-Friendly Fishing Line Stops Riverbed Pollution
APRIL 30, 1996
Decomposable Polyester
The material traditionally used to make fishing line is nylon. Strong, durable, semitransparent, and cheap, it has been prized as the perfect material for fishing line. However, line that gets caught on riverbeds and left behind is a major threat to waterfowl. Many birds get trapped in the line and are unable to move or fly.
In order to halt this kind of natural destruction, one fiber manufacturer has developed a fishing line that uses decomposable polyester. The manufacturers began to market the new line this spring ready for this year's fishing season. Decomposable fibers have been tested before, but insufficient strength and durability has made the results inappropriate for fishing line. This time, however, attempts to improve strength met with success. According to the manufacturer, the new product decomposes underground in 42 days. Even in water, where there are few bacteria, it loses all strength in around three months.
Steel that Rusts and Rots Away
Newly developed fishing lines that use metal, such as steel, are also on the market. One steel manufacturer has applied the technology of making extremely fine steel line of less than 0.1 millimeter in diameter. The finest line that it has developed measures just 0.037 millimeters, much finer than a human hair. Sales of this line have also begun this spring in preparation for this year's ayu, or fresh-water trout, fishing.
To prevent it from rusting while in use, the line is coated. But when the line snaps and is left behind, it gradually rusts, is converted into iron oxide, and is eaten away, so it has little effect on nature. Furthermore, this line stretches little in comparison with nylon. So when an ayu is hooked, the fisher can feel the slightest tug, which makes it a product that is also beneficial for the user.
Metal fishing line has been on the market in the past, but problems with thickness and difficulty in attaching it to the leader meant that fishers tended not to use it. These problems have been greatly eased, however, so the manufacturer anticipates that in the future around half of the line used for ayu fishing will be made of steel.