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The William and Mary's Batten School and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science is leading a national competitive grant program for the removal of derelict fishing traps, creating a national database for data collection, and assessing potential solutions to the environmental and economic impacts of lost gear.
Type of Project: Removal
Region: National
Project Dates: August 2023 - July 2028
Who is involved?
With support from the NOAA Marine Debris Program through Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding, the William and Mary's Batten School and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science is leading a competitive grant program for removal of derelict fishing traps across the country. As part of the project, the University of Georgia is conducting policy reviews and providing recommendations related to derelict trap prevention and management. Green Fin Studio will also develop a communications strategy, a website, and tools. They are working with Kenah Consulting to coordinate outreach to tribes, enhance underrepresented community participation in the program, and assist in tribal capacity building where appropriate.
What is the project and why is it important?
Derelict fishing gear impacts communities across the country. It includes gear such as lines, nets, pots, traps, and floats. Once lost or discarded, gear can continue to trap and kill wildlife, as well as compete with active fishing gear and damage important habitats. A study funded by the NOAA Marine Debris Program estimated that 3.3 million blue crabs are killed annually in derelict crab pots in the Chesapeake Bay, in addition to many other animals that are not the target of the traps. This can cause fishers to lose money as catch opportunities are lost and they pay to replace lost gear.
The William and Mary's Batten School and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science is working to reduce the impacts of derelict fishing gear in the Chesapeake Bay and across the United States. They are removing and recycling abandoned blue crab traps from Chesapeake Bay, as well as leading a multi-cycle competitive grant program for the removal of derelict fishing traps across the country as part of a Trap Removal, Assessment, and Prevention (TRAP) program. Removal projects will be eligible depending on the fishery and policies in a given location, and can include the removal of crab, lobster, and other trap types. A communications strategy and associated tools are being developed to support the project’s outreach efforts, including informational webinars for potential grant applicants and a metrics dashboard website to track progress. Project partner, Kenah Consulting, is working to enhance underrepresented community participation in the program by coordinating outreach to tribes and assisting in tribal capacity building, where appropriate.
Current efforts to address the issue of derelict fishing gear are disconnected. This important work allows organizations to access funds for removals and also coordinate the tracking, monitoring, and assessment of these efforts in a manner that provides consistency in data collection and analysis. A first-of-its-kind national online dashboard is being developed to standardize data collection. The William and Mary's Batten School and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science is also partnering with the University of Georgia to establish a Derelict Trap Policy Innovation Lab, bringing together researchers and students. Through the work of the Innovation Lab, the project will use the collected data to assess potential solutions to the ecological and socioeconomic impacts of lost gear nationwide.
In December 2024, the William and Mary’s Batten School and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in partnership with the NOAA Marine Debris Program announced $1.4 million in federal funding for 11 new projects under their Nationwide Fishing Trap Removal, Assessment, and Prevention (TRAP) Program. These subawards will remove derelict fishing traps from coastal waterways while collecting data to prevent future gear loss. The selected projects will work in the following geographies: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, New York, Palau, and Washington.
The selected projects are:
California Lobster & Trap Fishermen’s Association (California, $105,550) will remove lost fishing gear from beaches south of Point Conception down to San Diego, as well as in the Channel Islands. Severe swell events in the past two years have increased the number of traps washing ashore and getting lost underwater, which increases the likelihood of ghost fishing and other potential ecological hazards both in the water and on the beach.
Coastal Mapping & Sciences, LLC (Louisiana, $150,580) will build on the success of the current Louisiana Derelict Crab Trap Removal Program by locating, mapping, and removing derelict blue crab traps from high density areas, as well as collecting standardized data and reducing damaging ecological effects. Terrebonne Basin, Lake Pontchartrain, and Barataria Basin account for 60% of all traps lost in the Gulf of Mexico region.
Cornell Cooperative Extension (Connecticut and New York, $141,249) will remove around 1,000 derelict lobster pots in the Long Island Sound. The catastrophic Long Island Sound lobster die-off, which occurred in 1999, resulted in a dramatic drop in American lobster abundance and landings. As a result of the fishery collapse, many lobster fishers deemed it economically unfeasible to retrieve their deployed gear, electing to abandon it in the Sound. Cornell Cooperative Extension will work with longstanding collaborators (The Maritime Aquarium, Save the Sound, Project Oceanology, the Remote Ecologist) to build upon efforts that have resulted in the removal of over 22,000 derelict lobster pots from the Long Island Sound to date.
Delaware Sea Grant (Delaware, $69,504) will remove derelict recreational blue crab pots from Delaware’s Inland Bays, collect data to understand the problem and its effects, and educate the Delaware recreational fishing community about the impact derelict fishing gear can have on the environment. Because commercial crabbing is not permitted in the study area, this project highlights the contribution that recreational crabbers can make towards reducing the prevalence of derelict crab pots.
Ebiil Society, Inc (Palau, $128,000) will remove derelict traps and abandoned clam farm structures that threaten public access, navigational safety, and sea life in mangrove and seagrass habitat in the states of Ngarchelong, Ngiwal, Airai, and Ngatpang in Palau. Nearshore waters are littered with an unknown number of derelict mangrove crab traps and deteriorating, abandoned giant clam farm structures. The project area includes Palau’s Protected Areas Network sites and a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization Biosphere Reserve.
National Marine Sanctuary Foundation (Florida, $154,139) will remove submerged derelict spiny lobster and stone crab traps from the coastal waterways of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Divers will conduct removals in waters up to 130 feet deep using SCUBA equipment and lift bags. This innovative method allows for the extraction of traps that have lost their buoys and cannot be retrieved from the surface. Data collected during retrieval will increase regional knowledge about trap loss and accumulation.
Northwest Straits Foundation (Washington, $99,500) will partner with Natural Resources Consultants to remove and prevent derelict crab pots in the Maury Island Aquatic Reserve. The Reserve is managed by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources and is located within the Puyallup Tribe of Indians’ usual and accustomed fishing grounds. This project will help restore habitat, reduce crab trap entanglement issues, improve navigational safety, and support the Tribe’s commercial and subsistence fisheries. Additionally, educational outreach to the local crabbing community will help prevent reaccumulation of derelict crab pots. The Tribe is fully supportive of this project as they were consulted during the development of the proposal. Northwest Straits Foundation will be working directly with the Puyallup Tribal fisheries management.
Ocean Aid 360 (Florida, $170,000) will remove derelict crab and lobster traps in nearshore benthic waters of the Florida Keys. Building on a previous proven intervention effort, this project aims to achieve broad habitat improvements, benefit NOAA trust resources, and support the coastal economy. The project will include the collection, analysis, and reporting of standardized data, which will help inform the derelict fishing trap removal and prevention community of practice.
OceansWide (Maine, $199,364) will remove abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear in Vinalhaven Island, one of the most active and productive American lobster fishing areas in Maine. This project will create a valuable modeling tool to efficiently and effectively prioritize future gear removal efforts. Due to a prevalence of high-quality habitat and the archipelago’s location in Penobscot Bay, large amounts of fishing activity occur close to shore and significant concentrations of abandoned gear are known to occur in the vicinity.
The Oyster Recovery Partnership (Maryland, $134,226) will remove derelict blue crab traps from the waters of Anne Arundel County in the Chesapeake Bay. This initiative builds on decades of successful derelict trap removal projects, integrates data from a long-term state mapping initiative, and aligns with the County's goals to benefit watermen and improve local waterway health.
University of Florida/IFAS Extension & Florida Sea Grant (Florida, $119,638) will remove derelict fishing traps and associated debris from coastal and marine habitats, including sea turtle habitat within Biscayne National Park and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. These areas are inundated with unsightly recreational and commercial trap fishery-related debris, threatening coastal and marine habitats that support a diverse marine ecosystem and a tourism-based economy. The trap removal data collected will help National Park and Sanctuary management better understand the magnitude and sources of debris in these protected areas.
More information is available on the Virginia Institute of Marine Science website. For more information about this project, visit the Marine Debris Program Clearinghouse.