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https://reasonstobecheerful.world/shrimpers-crab-traps-ghost-fishing-incentives/>
"Crab traps work a bit like Roach Motels: crabs crawl in, but they don’t crawl
out. That’s good news for crab fishers’ chances of pulling in a good catch, but
when traps get lost at sea, they become a menace to all sorts of animals.
With no one there to retrieve them, the traps continue to fish, says Ryan
Bradley, head of the Mississippi Commercial Fisheries United, a nonprofit
fishermen’s organization. “Marine life gets into the trap. Eventually, they
can’t eat so they die, and then other marine life becomes attracted to it. They
get into the trap, and they die. It just becomes this awful cycle of death.”
Derelict crab traps harm wildlife and disrupt other fishers, especially
shrimpers. Bulky crab traps get caught in shrimping nets, tearing them open or
blocking them from catching shrimp. Frustrated shrimpers, with nowhere to put
the smelly traps, generally just throw them back, continuing the cycle.
But a group in Mississippi has found a solution: paying shrimpers a US $5
bounty to collect and recycle derelict crab traps. In just three years, the
program has removed almost 3,000 crab traps from Mississippi waters. Crab traps
are tagged, and those that are still in good condition are returned to their
owners, while traps that are too broken down are recycled.
It’s a real win-win. Wildlife is safer, the water is cleaner and, says Bradley,
who cofounded the program, there’s been a clear trend that shrimpers are
encountering fewer traps."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
