'Magnet fishers' pull bikes, scooters from Anacostia River in Navy Yard
Nov 14, 2024
WASHINGTON (DC News Now) - Over the last several weeks, a group of magnet fishers have taken to D.C.'s Navy Yard neighborhood and removed tons of trash from the Anacostia River.
Tires, bikes, scooters. You name it, they find it.
Kevin Sutliff, Ian White and Ashley Geoghegan, all from Virginia, have traveled throughout the DMV and surrounding areas to magnet fish in the region's waterways. They first got into the hobby during the pandemic.
It's exactly what it sounds like. Their crew throws large, heavy-duty magnets into bodies of water, waits to see what sticks and pulls out what they find.
Google Store (the brick-and-mortar kind) planned for Georgetown
The magnet fishers described the areas around the Navy Yard docks as a "gold mine" for magnet fishing.
"We look for waterways that are near high foot-traffic areas, like bars and restaurants. We did the Georgetown Waterfront a few times," White said. "Then, we started to hit the Navy Yard spot a few weeks ago and it became a gold mine for scooters and bikes. That spot has been really good to us."
The reaction from the local community is typically positive wherever they're throwing.
"The first reaction usually is, 'What are you guys doing? What are you fishing for?'" Sutliff said.
"Once we sit and talk with them a little bit, and explain what we're doing and that we're cleaning up the environment, they're usually pretty positive. They say, 'You're doing a great job. You're doing the Lord's work,'" White added.
So far this year, the group has pulled thousands of pounds of scrap and trash from the region's waterways.
STEM for Her Day in DC hopes to inspire young girls
Some of the trash, like big bikes and scooters, can't be scrapped or thrown out like normal trash. They call local agencies to let them know it needs removal.
Cleaning up the Anacostia River has been a priority for D.C. for years, with some organizations looking to make the river "swimmable" again one day.
"We know there have been a few efforts to get the Anacostia cleaned up. Part of what we're doing is bringing awareness to these issues and hopefully getting more folks involved," said Geoghegan.
Typically they're pulling up jewelry, bikes and scrap metal, but sometimes they find more than they were looking for.
"It's a rare thing. On occasion, we do find pistols and things like that," Sutliff said.
When they find things that could be nefarious, they alert the local authorities.
"Any time we find anything a little bit sketchy, we call the police department. Anything wrapped up in doggie bags, wrapped up in duct tape. We'd rather not deal with that," Geoghegan said.
DC Power FC brings former NFL player Vernon Davis to ownership group
The magnet fishers think there could be more hiding beneath the Anacostia's surface down by the Navy Yard docks or along the Washington Channel near the Wharf.
They're planning to go back there this weekend and invite anyone who might be interested to join them and see what it's all about.