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Magnet Fishing, a Pandemic Craze, Is Now Creating Trash Problems
The pictures are great, but they are in a format that does display properly at DU.
A-HED
Magnet Fishing, a Pandemic Craze, Is Now Creating Trash Problems
Enthusiasts say they clean waterways by fishing for scrap metal. Others say the hobby leaves a slimy mess; bicycles, fencing, baby carriages
By Ian Lovett
https://twitter.com/iglovett
Oct. 17, 2021 1:04 pm ET
BERLIN—Bored early in the pandemic, Constantin Chiteala went with a few friends to a nearby lake, tied a $6 magnet to a rope, tossed it into the water and pulled out a bicycle. ... He’s been hooked on magnet fishing ever since. ... “We’re having a little adventure,” Mr. Chiteala, 34 years old, said, “and then also doing something for the environment.”
Magnet fishing—using powerful magnets to pull metal out of bodies of water—has exploded in popularity in Europe. Thanks partly to YouTube videos posted by enthusiasts, it’s become such a craze that it’s created a problem: What to do with all the trash they find?
The magnet fishers say it’s a win-win: They have fun discovering what’s hiding under the surface, and they are cleaning the environment by removing trash from the waterways.
In the U.S., where magnet fishing is also growing, the pastime is largely accepted. But in Europe, where enthusiasts sometimes haul unexploded World War II ordnance from the water, local officials say magnet fishing is often illegal, a threat to archaeological sites, a source of litter and potentially dangerous.
{snip}
In the U.S., interest in magnet fishing has also picked up during the pandemic, fueled by YouTube and TikTok videos, said Ben Demchak, an archaeologist in Pennsylvania and owner of Kratos Magnetics, an online store for magnet fishing supplies. A top-notch fishing magnet—small enough to hold in one hand but with a pull force of thousands of pounds—will run you more than $250.
{snip}
https://images.wsj.net/im-417176?width=700&size=1.5
Nils Lange heaves a magnet attached to a rope into the water while magnet fishing in central Berlin.
PHOTO: BRYN STOLE
{snip}
Write to Ian Lovett at ian.lovett@wsj.com
Corrections & Amplifications
Magnet fishing is banned in South Carolina. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said it is banned in North Carolina. (Corrected on Oct. 22)
Copyright ©2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Appeared in the October 18, 2021, print edition.
Magnet Fishing, a Pandemic Craze, Is Now Creating Trash Problems
Enthusiasts say they clean waterways by fishing for scrap metal. Others say the hobby leaves a slimy mess; bicycles, fencing, baby carriages
By Ian Lovett
https://twitter.com/iglovett
Oct. 17, 2021 1:04 pm ET
BERLIN—Bored early in the pandemic, Constantin Chiteala went with a few friends to a nearby lake, tied a $6 magnet to a rope, tossed it into the water and pulled out a bicycle. ... He’s been hooked on magnet fishing ever since. ... “We’re having a little adventure,” Mr. Chiteala, 34 years old, said, “and then also doing something for the environment.”
Magnet fishing—using powerful magnets to pull metal out of bodies of water—has exploded in popularity in Europe. Thanks partly to YouTube videos posted by enthusiasts, it’s become such a craze that it’s created a problem: What to do with all the trash they find?
The magnet fishers say it’s a win-win: They have fun discovering what’s hiding under the surface, and they are cleaning the environment by removing trash from the waterways.
In the U.S., where magnet fishing is also growing, the pastime is largely accepted. But in Europe, where enthusiasts sometimes haul unexploded World War II ordnance from the water, local officials say magnet fishing is often illegal, a threat to archaeological sites, a source of litter and potentially dangerous.
{snip}
In the U.S., interest in magnet fishing has also picked up during the pandemic, fueled by YouTube and TikTok videos, said Ben Demchak, an archaeologist in Pennsylvania and owner of Kratos Magnetics, an online store for magnet fishing supplies. A top-notch fishing magnet—small enough to hold in one hand but with a pull force of thousands of pounds—will run you more than $250.
{snip}
https://images.wsj.net/im-417176?width=700&size=1.5
Nils Lange heaves a magnet attached to a rope into the water while magnet fishing in central Berlin.
PHOTO: BRYN STOLE
{snip}
Write to Ian Lovett at ian.lovett@wsj.com
Corrections & Amplifications
Magnet fishing is banned in South Carolina. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said it is banned in North Carolina. (Corrected on Oct. 22)
Copyright ©2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Appeared in the October 18, 2021, print edition.
