Ghost Pots - We don't need to pay anymore...

[Matt]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=Z3md2mUZ7nw

So now that the clean-up process is known, and remediation methods are known, the folks who are making the mess need to either:

a) Pay in to a fund that will continue the annual clean up process, which appears to be only about 17% effective (10,000 recovered versus 60,000 lost)

or

b) Be required to have a degradable panel on all commercial pots, so that the ghost pot does not kill for years and years.

This thread started with what we might call a "false dilemma" basically we either do this or that. Scott quickly and politely amended that with another alternative. There are many other alternatives, and many better ones too. This much loss is unacceptable. The best alternative starts with losing less gear. Trying to remove the gear after its lost is expensive and inefficient. Degradable panels only treats a symptom. To address the loss in a meaningful way, we need to know the causes of loss, i.e. root cause analysis. This hasn't been done. I think a good solid no-nonsense review of causes would be quite revealing.

[Scott McGuire]

So - I have a couple of other ideas, but what is the most common way a pot is lost?

Are floats lost - or cut off? Or are pot/float combos are carried into deeper water?

I guess a solution could be designed to solve both problems, but is it one cause of pot loss more common than the other?

[paxfish]

It is fuzzy. Sorta like "gotta fix pollution first." Great. Commission a study, do the root-cause analysis, review the process and drive methods to reduce gear loss. I'm listening and I'll support your efforts.

Meantime, requiring degradable panels is something we can do to reduce the ghost pot massacre in the very near term. With the additional benefit of being able to stop wasting taxpayer money to retrieve pots that the commercial watermen lose/abandon. It is proven, widely implemented in other states and it works.

[Matt]

It is fuzzy. Sorta like "gotta fix pollution first." Great. Commission a study, do the root-cause analysis, review the process and drive methods to reduce gear loss. I'm listening and I'll support your efforts.

Meantime, requiring degradable panels is something we can do to reduce the ghost pot massacre in the very near term. With the additional benefit of being able to stop wasting taxpayer money to retrieve pots that the commercial watermen lose/abandon. It is proven, widely implemented in other states and it works.

Thanks for that reply. I understand that a crab pot can be physically modified. What evidence do you have that watermen will agree to this? What specific historical data do you propose to support this unfunded mandate? What rules and enforcement would accompany this change? How much political capital are you willing to expend? Frankly these are all valid questions that need solid answers and detail in light of day. This thread did not address details its more like take your word for it and dont ask hard questions.

[paxfish]

I never said to take my word for it. Nor did I see any hard questions.

Your objections are noted. Thanks.

And please keep me posted on your efforts on pot loss analysis and remedies, I'm interested in supporting where I can.

[Matt]

Lots of hard questions need to be answered to require panels. We're talking irrefutable data driven analyses with political support. None of which we've seen on this thread. Requiring panels in this state would be like climbing mt everest. Any unfunded mandate on crabbers simply goes against state policy.

On the other hand losing less gear is a low cost win-win solution for all. Now if only we knew why so much gear was getting lost.

[27 sailfish]

This is just my observations:

The float will not hold the pot up so if the pot is in deeper water then the rope length , crabber will never find it. I've snagged pots in 30 feet with only about 15 feet of line on them.

I've seen pots dragged into deeper water then set by sailboats , barges pulled by tug boats , storm debri ( trees , etc ) and fishermen's anchors.

Floats get cut off by power boat props. Near Annapolis - I see speed boats run through the crabbing areas and never veer left / right. Hard to believe they lucked into a wide open path.

Often after a nice summer weekend - if I fish Monday , not uncommon to see cut off floats drifting along with current.

Now / then a rope or knot breaks - leaving pot on bottom. Very strong storm surge can move pots sometimes.

Hate to bring this one up but vandalism of pots by cutting line is not unheard of.

IMHO - these are 5-6 main causes to lost pots.

One thing that causes problems is how pots move with the crabs. Boaters might not be watching for pots in deeper waters often crabbed in early and late season.

[Matt]

Hate to bring this one up but vandalism of pots by cutting line is not unheard of.

Vandalism seems like a lot of work to cut off a pot in open water for no reason. Are you saying vandals cut off pots with no motivation?

[27 sailfish]

Matt - Some crabbers believe an area " belongs " to them. It is not unheard of for a newcomer into a " claimed " area to find his pots / floats missing a few days later.

Some times the pots are stolen - other times the line cut. The newcomer has to grapple the area to retrieve his pots.

Now / then so yahoo will get a bug up his butt and cut off some floats - no idea why. It is not widespread - luckily.

[chesbay2]

Don't forget floats make great decorations! Check out ebay.