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Frequently Asked Questions
about Derelict Fishing Gear
What is Derelict Fishing Gear?
Why is derelict gear harmful to the environment?
Why is derelict gear harmful to the economy?
What are the benefits of derelict gear removal?
How do you know where the gear is?
What are the normal steps in the gear removal process?
How do the divers actually remove a net?
How do the divers actually remove a crab pot?
What is done with the derelict gear once it is
removed?
How much derelict gear can be removed in a day?
What certifications do the divers have?
How do you maintain diver safety?
What are the regulations behind derelict gear and its
removal?
Who is funding derelict gear removal in Neah Bay?
Q. What is
derelict fishing gear?
Derelict fishing gear (DFG) is nets,
lines, crab/shrimp pots, and other recreational or commercial fishing
equipment that has been lost, abandoned, or discarded in the marine
environment.
Q. Why is
derelict gear harmful to the environment?
Derelict gear poses a threat to marine mammals, seabirds, shellfish and fish through
"ghost fishing," where the gear traps and kills animals. This can attract other feeding animals to
perpetrate the cycle. Derelict gear can continue such wasteful killing for decades. Derelict gear
also obscures and damages productive habitat.
Q. Why
is derelict gear harmful to the economy?
Ghost fishing reduces fishery stocks otherwise available for commercial and recreational
fishers. Derelict gear reduces availability of critical spawning and rearing habitat necessary to
support future generations. Derelict gear can also create a hazard on which additional gear
snags.
Q. What are the benefits of
derelict gear removal?
- Improves fish habitats
- Immediately decreases unwanted species mortality
- Restores areas to potential fishing
- Decreases risk of additional gear entanglement
- Increases recreational diver safety; and
- Provides opportunity for community involvement through anonymous gear loss reporting
Q. How do
you know where the gear is?
To find derelict gear, we rely on the cooperation of fishermen, boaters,
divers, and beachgoers to report lost gear. Fishermen report areas
where snags have resulted in additional gear loss. Dive surveys are
then made in these high fishing areas to find nets. Crab pots are
found with underwater side-scan sonar.
All reporting of gear loss is anonymous and no fines will be issued for
accidental release of gear.
Q. What
are the normal steps in the gear removal process?
Steps of a derelict gear removal project include:
- Surveying for derelict gear through interviews, dives or side-scan sonar
- Preparing a removal plan for approval by the appropriate government agencies
- Contracting and training divers in the community
- Notifying the Coast Guard, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and other
appropriate authorities three days in advance of the removal
- Under the Washington State Abandoned Property Law, derelict gear owners will be contacted
if they can be identified and allowed an opportunity to recover their lost gear
- Managing the removal operation
- Recording impact data - what organisms were found entangled in the gear
- Return of gear to identified owners or proper disposal of gear
- Preparing a final report to document the project
Q. How do
the divers actually remove a net?
To survey for nets, a diver descends to a
probable location of derelict gear. Before the removal process, divers survey the length of the
net, recording the impacts of the net on habitat. Nets are removed slowly, by hand to minimize
disturbance of the habitat. If removing the net would cause significant habitat damage, the net
may be cut and small portions left in place. The net is bundled, and an airlift bag brings it to
the surface. Entangled animals are recorded and returned to the sea.
Q. How do the divers actually remove a crab pot?
Side-scan sonar can identify where crab pots are located. At a target site,
a diver follows a line from the surface float to the seabed, then records habitat impact data. If
the crab pot is more than _ buried, it is disabled and left there. If it is not buried, a recovery
line is hooked to the crab pot, and the crew pulls it up to the boat. Onboard, the crab pot is
inspected for rot cord and all entangled animals are recorded.
Q.
What is done with the derelict gear once it is removed?
Nets or crab pots found with permit numbers attached to tags are set
aside and the owners are contacted to pick up their gear if they so
choose. The gear is held for 5 days after notification.
Unidentified gear is usually taken to recyclers or landfills. Most
nets are not reusable because of the dense vegetation found on them.
Q. How much derelict gear can be
removed in a day?
On average, 5-6 nets and up to 50 crab pots.
Q.
What certifications do the divers have to have?
Divers must have a commercial diving certification or documented
experience in the performance of debris removal. All personnel must
have current training in CPR, first aid and emergency oxygen
administration.
Q.
How do you maintain diver safety?
Diver safety is at the heart of the project. Removing nets can
be dangerous. Visibility can substantially decrease as nets are
removed and substrate enters the water. Nets can entangle divers,
just as they entangle animals. The team is very important for diver
safety: one diver works with the net; one support diver standing off the
net in case entanglement occurs; one standby diver on deck, suited up and
ready to enter the water within one minute of emergency notification; and
one diving supervisor. Divers are not allowed to dive over 100 feet
to eliminate the need for onboard recompression chambers.
Communication systems also maintain safety by allowing contact between all
divers onboard and in the water.
Q.
What are the regulations behind derelict gear and its removal?
Senate Bill 6313 - WA State Legislature set up a no fault derelict
gear reporting system and require the Washington Department of Fish and
Wildlife to develop guidelines for the safe and environmentally effective
means of finding, removing and disposing of derelict fishing gear.
Washington State
Abandoned Property Law - The local county sheriff's office must be called
and told that the derelict gear owners will be contacted if they can be identified
and allowed an opportunity to recover their lost gear. This is not
applicable in tribal water.
Q. Who
is funding derelict gear removal in Neah Bay?
A derelict gear removal project in Neah Bay was funded in 2005 by the
NOAA Marine Debris Program. The OCNMS has also contributed funding to help
support this project. Future funding for work in OCNMS may be sought from
the NOAA Marine Debris Program, which offers grants each year, and from other
sources.
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