03-11-2010, 01:10 AM
Fisheries biologists and staff from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), with help from volunteers, collected and disposed of 477 abandoned crab traps during LDWF's annual Crab Trap Clean-up Program. The work was conducted on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010, in conjunction with the program's volunteer day.
This year's clean-up involved temporarily closing a portion of the Barataria Basin Estuary to the use of crab traps for a nine-day period from Feb. 27 through March 8, 2010, within portions of Lafourche, Jefferson and Plaquemines parishes. During the closure, any crab trap remaining within the area was considered abandoned and subject to removal. All traps were brought by boat to the designated disposal site at Seaway Marina in Lafitte, and crushed, completely filling two 30-cubic-yard, roll-off dumpsters.
"Since 2004, LDWF, together with individual volunteers and volunteer organizations, has successfully removed and disposed of 18,449 abandoned and derelict crabs," according to Biologist Manager Vince Guillory, who helped develop and coordinate LDWF's Derelict Trap Removal Program.
Through the years, a diverse group of volunteers have participated in crab trap cleanup programs, including commercial crabbers and recreational fishermen, concerned individuals, and representatives from conservation and environmental organizations, state and federal agencies and universities. The Crab Trap Removal Program is viewed as a positive approach to removing derelict crab traps from coastal waters. The program benefits the crab fishery and also reduces potential navigational risks to recreational and commercial fishermen and boaters. Of equal importance, "ghost fishing," a term referencing an unseen cycle of mortality of blue crabs and other organisms that enter and perish within abandoned traps, is reduced with their removal.
Funding for the 2010 crab trap cleanup was provided through the derelict crab trap removal program account. Legislation supported by the Louisiana Crab Task Force in 2005 established this account which is funded by a statutorily dedicated portion of recreational and commercial crab trap gear license fees.
Media Contact
Laura Deslatte (225) 610-2363 or ldeslatte@wlf.la.gov.
This year's clean-up involved temporarily closing a portion of the Barataria Basin Estuary to the use of crab traps for a nine-day period from Feb. 27 through March 8, 2010, within portions of Lafourche, Jefferson and Plaquemines parishes. During the closure, any crab trap remaining within the area was considered abandoned and subject to removal. All traps were brought by boat to the designated disposal site at Seaway Marina in Lafitte, and crushed, completely filling two 30-cubic-yard, roll-off dumpsters.
"Since 2004, LDWF, together with individual volunteers and volunteer organizations, has successfully removed and disposed of 18,449 abandoned and derelict crabs," according to Biologist Manager Vince Guillory, who helped develop and coordinate LDWF's Derelict Trap Removal Program.
Through the years, a diverse group of volunteers have participated in crab trap cleanup programs, including commercial crabbers and recreational fishermen, concerned individuals, and representatives from conservation and environmental organizations, state and federal agencies and universities. The Crab Trap Removal Program is viewed as a positive approach to removing derelict crab traps from coastal waters. The program benefits the crab fishery and also reduces potential navigational risks to recreational and commercial fishermen and boaters. Of equal importance, "ghost fishing," a term referencing an unseen cycle of mortality of blue crabs and other organisms that enter and perish within abandoned traps, is reduced with their removal.
Funding for the 2010 crab trap cleanup was provided through the derelict crab trap removal program account. Legislation supported by the Louisiana Crab Task Force in 2005 established this account which is funded by a statutorily dedicated portion of recreational and commercial crab trap gear license fees.
Media Contact
Laura Deslatte (225) 610-2363 or ldeslatte@wlf.la.gov.