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Thanks to a partnership between the Department of State Lands and the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission, "derelict" crab pots are now being retrieved from the ocean floor off Oregon's coast. The pilot project to retrieve the gear was funded by $5,000 from both organizations.
About 50 pots have been removed so far by crabbers out of Astoria, Winchester Bay, Charleston and Brookings, said Nick Furman, the commission's director. Every season, pots are lost, stuck or abandoned as a result of stormy weather, ocean currents and other factors.
Operation CRABPOT (Clearing Refuse and Building a Pristine Ocean for Tomorrow) is an all-volunteer effort that Furman thinks is a first on the West Coast. The commission's long-term goal is to work with crabbers to set up a plan for yearly clean-ups.
"We were inspired by SOLV's tremendously successful beach clean-up activity along the Oregon coastline," said Furman. "There's no reason why we shouldn't do our part to make the near-shore waters as debris-free as our public beaches. It's the responsible thing to do."
Because the Department of State Lands oversees the land underlying Oregon's territorial sea (which extends three miles out from the low-tide mark) it made sense to contribute to the clean-up effort, said Louise Solliday, DSL director.
See the video produced by the crab commission.
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