Derelict Fishing Gear in Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary: Surveys, Removal Protocol Development, and Removal Feasibility Assessment
Pacific Region; 2006
There have been documented significant amounts of derelict fishing gear in Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Fishing gear debris includes long lines, gill nets, crab gear, and trawl warps entangled on the bank. A concern is that this abandoned gear may be negatively impacting Sanctuary resources, creating artificial habitat for marine life, and potentially impacting the physical structure of the bank. Research has demonstrated that the bank’s physical structure and benthic invertebrate community provides critical habitat for recovering stocks of west coast rockfish (Sebastes spp.). This derelict gear also poses a danger to personnel and equipment involved in Sanctuary research and monitoring activities.
This project expands surveys on Cordell Bank to document and characterizes the presence of derelict fishing gear on the bank, develops policies and procedures for its removal in partnership with a non-NOAA organization, the SeaDoc Society (University of California Davis Wildlife Health Center), and conducts a feasibility assessment by conducting pilot field removal of derelict fishing gear to refine our methodologies and assess cost and benefit of gear removal in CBNMS.
This program is housed within NOAA's Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary and is funded through NOAA's Ocean Service, Office of Response & Restoration, Marine Debris Program.
