EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — Thousands of crab pots are lost in Puget Sound and other Washington waters, and they continue to catch and kill crabs.
Cleaning up derelict crab pots and fishing nets is the mission of the nonprofit Northwest Straits Initiative.
The Daily Herald reports a boat with a diver was out last week in Everett’s Port Gardner, removing crab pots located by side-scan radar. The group has removed more than 2,000 lost crab pots in the past nine years.
Officials urge sport crabbers to use a “rot cord” on the trap. That’s a rope made out of cotton or hemp that will disintegrate under water in a few months. That will allow the cage to reopen so crabs can escape.
