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Crab Pot Escape Cord Project
Losing a crab pot happens…weather, tides, selecting the wrong site, the wrong line length, cheap equipment, poor knots…the list is long. After decades of fishing in Puget Sound by recreational, tribal and commercial crabbers, there are thousands of “ghost” pots on the bottom that continue to catch crab. How many are there?
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The Northwest Straits Foundation has sent divers to survey and remove derelict gear from the bottom of Puget Sound. So far they have surveyed and removed pots and other derelict gear from 7% of Puget Sound waters, and found 1,256 derelict pots. Imagine what’s left out there! Click on the picture above to see the KOMO video on crab pot removal in Snohomish County. Their estimates (based on the data they have collected) are 14,000 to 20,000 pots have accumulated in Puget Sound over the last five years. Of those, about 7,000 continue to catch crab. Throw in the “by catch” and the fact that crabs are scavengers of even their own species, the total lost per year in the NW Straits gets to 327,000! NW Straits has not done work in the waters of Jefferson County, but in our neighboring Clallam County, about 30% of the pots removed did NOT have escape cord. The NW Straits Foundation has set a goal of 2012 to make Puget Sound Derelict Gear Free. Read more about their work
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is responsible for managing the crab harvests in Washington State to perpetuate the species while providing a sustainable harvest. WDFW requires that all crab pots be equipped with biodegradable 100% cotton or other natural fiber that will rot away, allowing the crab to escape freely if the pot is lost. In fact, the Port Townsend Marine Science Center conducted the research on the rates of cord degradation for this project! Even with 1/8 inch cotton cord used on the escape hatch, if that pot is lost it will take from 9-16 weeks to rot (depending on the temperature, salinity and sunlight). It will still catch and kill crabs, but not as many as a pot with a zip line, plastic rope, wire or a bungee cord on the escape hatch. Those pots won’t release the crab until the entire pot degrades.
The problem of derelict gear is being addressed on all levels…recreational, commercial and tribal. As a recreational crabber, you can contribute in many ways:
1. Use escape cord and share what you know about the project with friends.
2. Label you buoy, weight you line, know the depth of the water when you set out your gear, and use the correct length of line.
3. Report lost gear to the WDFW No-Fault Hotline 1-800-477-6224.
Resources for more information:
www.escapecord.org
http://wdfw.wa.gov
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