NH Lead Tackle Buyback Program Returns for 2025

Photo/Loon Preservation Committee/Kittie Wilson

If you have lead tackle you can’t use because it’s illegal, you can turn that tackle into fishing gear you can use. The Loon Preservation Committee — a group that works to protect New Hampshire’s loon population — recently announced their Lead Tackle Buyback program will return for 2025.

It is illegal to use lead sinkers and lead-headed jigs individually weighing an ounce or less in all fresh water in New Hampshire, including lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams.

Anglers can turn in an ounce or more of illegal-to-use lead fishing tackle for a $10 store voucher.

At the end of the calendar year, the group will award $100 to the person who turns in the largest amount of target tackle at each participating shop, and $50 to the person who turns in the second-largest amount at each participating shop.

Fourteen New Hampshire shops are participating in this year’s program.

Since 1989, lead poisoning resulting from lead tackle ingestion has been the leading cause of documented common loon deaths in New Hampshire, accounting for 38 percent of documented adult loon deaths.

Learn more about the Lead Tackle Buyback program.