TRAPS TO TREASURE
4 Years - 12,962 Traps
Maine is known for its rocky coastline, picturesque lighthouses that dot the shore, and, of course, lobster...
However, lurking beneath the tourmaline waters of the Gulf of Maine it is estimated that there is more than fifteen million ghost traps. Lying on the bottom, their buoy-less ropes drifting and tangling with anything that passes by, ghost lobster traps are a profuse problem. Ghost fishing gear (GFG) is discarded or lost fishing gear that continues to "fish" even in its abandoned form. The lost gear can be nets, traps, fishing line, and loose ropes.
Why is ghost fishing gear a problem?
A typical lobster trap setup has a PVC coated wire trap or traps with a rope line that leads to a surface buoy. These traps sometimes lose their surface buoy and become irretrievable. This costs the lobster fishing community both their trap and access to good clear bottom to fish on. once these traps are lost on the bottom they continue to fish till they break down. However once they break down they begin to tumble and create bigger snarls and balls of traps that can also be the cause of fishermen losing more gear due to tangles and snarls.
