Derelict Fishing Gear Removal
For complete information on this project and progress to date, see our web site at www.derelictgear.org.
The Issue: Decades of a thriving commercial and recreational fishery in Puget Sound has left tons of old fishing gear behind. The Northwest Straits Initiative works to survey and remove lost fishing gear. We have found thousands of old crab pots littering the seafloor and hundreds of nets caught in rocky outcroppings and draped along waterways and we know that there are many more. Bad weather, mechanical failures and human error have caused fishermen to lose or abandon their fishing gear. Most of what we find is gillnets and crab pots (commercial and sport). Both can continue to fish long after the original owners have gone. The result is wasted seafood and needless damage to marine resources and habitat.
Click here to see reports in our bibliography on the Derelict Fishing Gear Project.