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Fishermen clear abandoned ghost traps from Chesapeake Bay

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science has allocated $225,000 in National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration funding to help local watermen remove abandoned fishing gear from the Chesapeake Bay. This initiative targets "ghost traps," which are lost or discarded crab pots that continue to trap marine life without being harvested. These traps pose significant threats by killing animals, disrupting natural habitats, and creating navigational hazards for vessels. The TRAP program has successfully recovered more than 24,000 abandoned traps over the last two years, removing 600,000 pounds of underwater debris. This effort has documented nearly 36,000 trapped animals and supported over 135 jobs. The new funding will specifically support two projects focused on retrieving blue crab pots from the Herring Bay and Eastern Bay areas. Local organizations, including the Oyster Recovery Partnership and Raunch Inc., will collaborate with watermen to identify and extract the gear. Because local fishermen spend significant time on the water, they are uniquely positioned to locate these derelict traps. The program builds on previous large-scale removal efforts led by the institute to protect the estuary's diverse marine populations.

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The essential points

  1. 01A $225,000 NOAA grant will fund the removal of abandoned blue crab pots from the Herring and Eastern Bay.
  2. 02The TRAP program has recovered 600,000 pounds of underwater debris and 24,000 traps over two years.
  3. 03Removing these ghost traps prevents the unnecessary death of nearly 36,000 marine animals documented in recent efforts.
  4. 04Local watermen will work with specialized companies to locate gear using their extensive knowledge of the bay.
The full brief

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science has allocated $225,000 in National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration funding to help local watermen remove abandoned fishing gear from the Chesapeake Bay. This initiative targets "ghost traps," which are lost or discarded crab pots that continue to trap marine life without being harvested. These traps pose significant threats by killing animals, disrupting natural habitats, and creating navigational hazards for vessels.

The TRAP program has successfully recovered more than 24,000 abandoned traps over the last two years, removing 600,000 pounds of underwater debris. This effort has documented nearly 36,000 trapped animals and supported over 135 jobs. The new funding will specifically support two projects focused on retrieving blue crab pots from the Herring Bay and Eastern Bay areas.

Local organizations, including the Oyster Recovery Partnership and Raunch Inc., will collaborate with watermen to identify and extract the gear. Because local fishermen spend significant time on the water, they are uniquely positioned to locate these derelict traps. The program builds on previous large-scale removal efforts led by the institute to protect the estuary's diverse marine populations.