Derelict Fishing Gear Removal
The Issue: Decades of commercial and recreational fishing has contributed tons of lost or abandoned gear throughout Puget Sound. Common types of derelict fishing gear include gillnets, purse seine nets, aquaculture nets, crab and shrimp pots, lines and ropes. Gear loss is never desirable, but bad weather, mechanical failures and human error consistently provide circumstances which cause gear to be left in our marine waters.
It is not currently possible to accurately estimate the magnitude of the derelict fishing gear problem in Washington State because less than 5% of the fishing grounds have been adequately surveyed. Our limited surveys demonstrate that derelict fishing gear is quite prolific and is having a significant impact to marine life and marine habitats. For example, the Commission identified 26 derelict gillnets in three days of surveys using one diver in northern Puget Sound. The diver estimated he covered less than 1/2 of 1% of the known gillnet fishing grounds in northern Puget Sound during the three day survey. During removal operations near Lopez Island, divers found a total of 41 nets in a one nautical mile area covering approximately 9 acres of seabed. Over 900 derelict crab pots were observed with side-scan sonar during 5 days of surveying in northern Puget Sound. Two divers recovered 292 crab pots in five days in Hale's Passage alone. Many of these pots were still actively fishing; even those equipped with rot cord.
To date, surveys have revealed more than 4,563 derelict gear targets in Puget Sound, consisting of 4,411 pots and 178 nets. Many hundreds more nets have been reported by fishermen and recreational divers or have been encountered during removal operations.
Click here to see more reports about the Derelict Fishing Gear Program
What can you do?
The Impacts
Much of the derelict fishing gear in Puget Sound persists for years in the marine environment, especially since use of synthetic nets began in the 1950s. Depending upon the condition of the gear and its location, some gear may continue to actively fish for many years.
Most nets are lost in areas where high concentrations of fish are known to occur. Once lost, the nets can continue to harvest salmon, steelhead and other species in these areas for years, resulting in continual and unnecessary fishing mortality. Crab pots also continue to fish for long periods of time after they are lost, especially those pots not equipped with escape cord. Derelict crab pots identified with side scan sonar in Port Angeles Harbor, Dungeness Bay and Sequim Bay in July 2003 were found to be still actively fishing when removed seven months later in February 2004.
Click above to view a short video clip of a derelict fishing net in San Juan County. This gillnet became derelict during the first week of gillnetting season in San Juan county in August 2006. The fishing boat suffered mechanical problems and had to be towed in to port. The net was cut because the boat equipment could not function to bring it on board. The boat captain reported the incident and provided the location to the derelict gear hotline hosted by WDFW. Because of this timely report, the net was removed just seven days later by the Northwest Straits Commission derelict gear removal team with support from WDFW and Corps of Engineers. Still, after just a week in the water, the impact of this single net was astounding. Found in the net were:
- 1 dead harbor seal
- 30 dead red rock crab
- 38 dead kelp crab
- 30 dead spiny dogfish sharks
- 25 dead sockeye salmon
- 5 dead Chinook salmon
- 30 dead rockfish
- 40 dead kelp greenling
- 90 dead flatfish
- 110 dead spotted ratfish
- 30 dead lingcod
In addition to direct entanglement and mortality of fish, birds, crustaceans, and marine mammals, it has been shown that derelict gear also negatively impacts the habitat where it is found (denial of access to habitat, sedimentation, scouring, blocking eelgrass growth, etc.). Gillnet meshes trap fine sediments out of the water column creating a layer of soft sediment over hard rocky habitat that suffocates most sessile organisms. Nets draped over high-relief rocky habitat prevent access to caves and depressions frequented by juvenile and adult rockfish. Tidal movement of lead lines and ropes scours attached animals and vegetation off the seabed. Derelict crab pots can block up to 50% of the eelgrass growth in their footprint.
Derelict fishing gear removal provides an immediate positive benefit (reduction in mortality or take) plus a long-term benefit as the habitat recovers and its functions are restored. A report on the cost-benefit analysis of the program is now available.