Posts tagged with

derelict crab pots

November is National Native American Heritage Month

Posted Wed, 11/15/2023 - 13:51

November is National Native American Heritage Month

The NOAA Marine Debris Program is proud to collaborate with multiple tribal partners in efforts to remove marine debris from our waterways and empower the communities that work to reduce the impacts of marine debris on our shores. Through our grant programs, regional action plans, and community-building efforts, NOAA’s Marine Debris Program strives to bring together the many groups that tirelessly work to reduce the impacts of marine debris. In celebration of our rich ancestral heritage, this month we are highlighting some active projects that work with or are led by native communities. Learn more about each of the projects and the impacts of marine debris on native communities! 

Traveling Marine Debris Tournament Making a Big Impact

Posted Wed, 01/25/2023 - 11:00

Since our very first event in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Ocean Aid 360 Ghost Trap Rodeo, which resembles an all-ages fishing tournament with prizes, has engaged 1,085 volunteers in 22 events, from the Florida Panhandle to Key West and the Bahamas. Over that time, these participating boaters, anglers, paddlers, and beachcombers have helped Ocean Aid 360 find and remove over 162,000 pounds of marine debris, including 2,591 derelict crab and lobster traps left abandoned during seasonal closures.

Mapping, Marking, and Mobilizing to Remove Derelict Fishing Gear from Delaware’s Inland Bays

Posted Mon, 12/12/2022 - 11:00

The shallow, protected habitats of Delaware’s Inland Bays make for one of the most popular areas in the state for residents and tourists to try their hands at catching blue crabs. In boats or on the shore, recreational crabbers use all kinds of gear, from hand lines, to trot lines, to small traps with collapsible sides, and the Chesapeake style crab pot. Unfortunately, thousands of derelict crab pots have been left behind or lost, and are littered beneath the surface of the Inland Bays. The University of Delaware and Delaware Sea Grant, with funding from the NOAA Marine Debris Program, worked to address the issue by teaming up with recreational crabbers to remove derelict pots.

On the Hunt for Derelict Crab Traps in South Carolina Coastal Waters

Posted Wed, 11/16/2022 - 11:00

Crabbing is a popular recreational activity and a valuable commercial industry in South Carolina. Traps become derelict when they are displaced or when their marking buoys are lost from events such as boat strikes, extreme weather, or equipment malfunction. The true number and distribution of derelict crab traps in coastal South Carolina remains unknown. A project led by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources aims to improve our understanding of the impact of derelict fishing gear in South Carolina by mapping intertidal and subtidal areas of four estuaries.

Eliminating Threats of Derelict Crab Pots in Washington’s Salish Sea

Posted Wed, 08/10/2022 - 11:00

The wonders of Washington’s Salish Sea are easy to find. A day exploring here can include roaming a shoreline digging for clams while one of the region's many snowcapped mountains loom in the background, catching salmon, pulling up pots full of Dungeness crab, or traversing the majestic San Juan Archipelago. Yet, underneath the waters of the Salish Sea lies a hidden threat to the ecosystem; lost and abandoned fishing nets and crab pots on the seafloor that degrade marine habitat and entangle and capture marine life with no one there to harvest them. Living in this area comes with the responsibility to protect its beauty and the resources it provides.

Awaiting Rescue in Delaware – Recovering Derelict Crab Pots from Delaware’s Inland Bays neil.mccoy Tue, 05/18/2021 - 11:00

Up to 20,000 pots from Delaware’s recreational blue crab fishery may sit on the murky bottom of Delaware’s Inland Bays, getting swept around by the currents and mired in the mud. There, they await rescue – inadvertently scraping across the bottom, getting in the way of boats, and continuing to ghost fish by trapping crabs, fish, and other wildlife. A new project, led by the University of Delaware and Delaware Sea Grant, is using side-scan and live sonar to identify and recover derelict crab pots lost and abandoned in Delaware’s Indian River Bay.

Reduction of Ghost Fishing from Derelict Blue Crab Traps on the Mid-Texas Coast neil.mccoy Wed, 05/05/2021 - 11:00

Most of us in coastal communities know the term “ghost fishing” and why it is bad, but to get a handle on the problem here in the Texas Mid-Coast area local scientists are diving deeper into the issue by looking for the root causes of the problem. The Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program, with funding from a NOAA Marine Debris Program removal grant, is expanding efforts to remove derelict traps and gather standardized data that can be used to better assess the ecological and economic impacts and help identify the causes of trap abandonment.

The United States Becomes a Member of the Global Ghost Gear Initiative

Posted Thu, 07/16/2020 - 08:24

We are excited to share that the United States Government formally joined the Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI). Last month, the United States Department of State signed a statement of support for the GGGI pledging continued United States Government commitment to address abandoned, lost, or discarded fishing gear, also known as “ghost gear,” in the global ocean.

A Big Problem with Many Solutions: Derelict Crab Pots in Washington State

Posted Wed, 07/17/2019 - 09:18

They say that too many cooks spoil the broth, but when the broth is derelict crab pots in Washington State, the more cooks the better. Over 10,000 crab pots are estimated to be lost annually in the Puget Sound alone, and  many more are lost in the Straits of Juan de Fuca and along the Pacific Coast.