Volunteers remove a derelict crab trap. Once a crab trap is lost or discarded, it can kill fish, crabs and other organisms for years.

Florida has joined the ranks of other Gulf coast states with a new program to remove derelict crab traps from coastal waters. Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi already have large-scale removal and clean-up programs in place. Florida’s initial efforts have been locally concentrated, but the program has great potential because new state rules are set up to allow any interested group to remove abandoned crap traps from their local waters.

To date, four cleanup events have been held, the first of which took place in November in Hillsborough Bay where 50 volunteers climbed aboard 16 shallow-draft boats and spread out across the water to dig, twist and pull 78 traps from the soft bottom. In the process they released an otherwise doomed assortment of marine life, including blue crabs, stone crabs, sheepshead, mullet and redfish. Once a crab trap is lost or discarded, it can continue trapping and killing marine life for years.

“The participants felt they were doing some really good, hands-on work for the bay by getting out there and recovering the derelict traps,” said Wendy Valle, with Tampa BayWatch, the organization that spearheaded the event.

Early this year, the Florida Airboat Association used their skinny-water crafts during low tide to pull 122 traps out of the Alafia River. And another pilot effort has taken place in the Homosassa River under the guidance of the St. Martins Marsh Aquatic Preserve. “We are planning larger events in the Crystal River and Big Bend areas as a way to get the public involved,” said Melissa Zirhut, with the preserve.

Before each event, volunteers are trained to tell the difference between a derelict and a legal crab trap so that only abandoned traps are removed. The idea of holding rolling crab trapping closures around the state, similar to the way it’s done in other Gulf states, will be addressed this year by the state’s Blue Crab Advisory Board. With rolling closures, large areas of coastal waters will be closed to crabbing for a period of time to allow crabbers to remove their legal traps. After that, every remaining trap can be pulled out and discarded.

For now, groups such as fishing clubs or conservation organizations, or even a bunch of anglers who just get together, can submit a trap-removal proposal to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

SWA