Attention Recreational Crabbers

 Northwest Straits Foundation and Skagit County Marine Resources Committee’s Salish Sea Stewards are Educating Crabbers on Opening Weekend

 

The Northwest Straits Initiative is educating crabbers to make sure your crab pot is not one of the estimated 12,000 which are lost in Puget Sound every year. Lost crab pots continue to capture crab with no one to harvest them; resulting in over 180,000 Dungeness crab killed each year. That is a lot of wasted crab not making it to the dinner table.

 Lost crab pots can often be prevented by following our checklist:

 •  AVOID MARINE TRANSIT AND FERRY LANES

•  CHECK TIDES AND CURRENTS. Avoid crabbing during strong   tidal changes and currents.

•  MAKE BUOYS MORE VISIBLE. Add a second buoy or stick and flag.

•  USE A WEIGHTED LINE to sink below the surface and avoid being cut by passing boats.

•  WEIGHT YOUR POT so they do not move in high currents or tidal changes

•  USE LONGER LINE. Use 1/3 more line than water depth to allow for changes in tides and currents

•  SECURE LID AND ESCAPE PANELS WITH BIODEGRADABLE COTTON ESCAPE CORD. This allows crabs to escape from lost pots after the cord degrades.

*  STAY WITH YOUR POT. A watched pot will bring home more crab.

This list can be found at www.derelictgear.org to ensure your pot is set correctly and remains in place until harvest time. At this webpage you will also find instructional videos, helpful apps, and additional resources to help you keep your crab pots safe so you can catch more crab. Do not come home empty handed; be sure you are in the know before you go.

Be on the lookout for volunteers with the Skagit County Marine Resources Committee’s Salish Sea Stewards Program at your local boat launches on the opening weekends of July 1^st for Marine Area 6 and July 15^th for Marine Area 7 South. They will be providing educational materials, gauges for measuring your catch, and are available to discuss how to correctly set your crab pot so you can catch more crab.  You may also find these educational materials while purchasing your license at local retailers. Be sure to take the online survey and enter to win new crabbing gear!

If you would like to stay informed on the goings-on of the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative, the seven Marine Resources Committees, and our projects around the region, please sign up here for our electronic newsletter or visit the Northwest Straits Commission's website:  www.nwstraits.org