02/01/2023 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 02/01/2023 09:33
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AUSTIN - Every February for the past 21 years, countless volunteers have offered up their time to help search for and remove abandoned crab traps. Crab traps left in the water can foul shrimpers' nets, snag anglers' lines and "ghost fish" which allows traps to unintentionally kill fish trapped inside as well as create unseemly views. To date, more than 40,000 abandoned crab traps have been removed from Texas coastal waters.
From Feb. 17to 26, Texas coastal waters will be closed to crabbing with wire mesh crab traps to facilitate the annual volunteer crab trap cleanup. Any traps left in bays - including traps tied to docks - will be assumed abandoned and considered "litter" under state law. This allows volunteers to legally remove any crab traps they find.
Volunteers are needed to assist in the coastwide effort to remove the numerous traps that have been lost or abandoned since last year's cleanup. To facilitate these efforts, select sites will have volunteer events on Saturday, Feb. 18. (The main volunteer event for Sabine Lake is Saturday, Feb. 25, in coordination with the Louisiana Department of Fish and Wildlife.) These sites are denoted as "facilitated" in the list below. Registration with partner organizations may be required.
2023 Crab Trap Drop-Off Sites
At all sites, dumpsters or collection areas marked with banners will be available to receive traps for the duration of the closure. Volunteers may focus their efforts on Feb. 18 or work at their own pace anytime during the closure, but traps cannot be removed prior to Feb. 17 or after Feb. 26. Opportunities for land-based volunteers are limited.
The Coastal Conservation Association Texas, Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program, Galveston Bay Foundation, San Antonio Bay Partnership, Christmas Bay Foundation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are providing continued support to the crab trap removal program. Numerous other organizations and companies also are volunteering their services.
To participate, volunteers may pick up free tarps, gloves and additional information at their local Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Coastal Fisheries field stations. TPWD requests that volunteers record and submit information about the number of traps they collect as well as sightings of diamondback terrapins.
All other legal means of crabbing will not be affected during the closure period for wire crab traps.
For more information about the Abandoned Crab Trap Removal and to learn more about how you can volunteer, please consider joining the Coastal Fisheries Division for an informational webinar at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8. This is a free webinar, but registration is required. For all other questions relating to the program, contact Holly Grand at (361) 431-6003 x822 or at [email protected].