Carl Ray and Lefty Ward were the first in during the February 16 Crab Trap Removal. They brought in 11 abandoned traps. -Photo by Maxine Sharp

More than 30,000 traps removed since program began.

Art Morris, Fishery Outreach Specialist for TPWD, reports that more than 100 volunteers removed 862 crab traps from Texas waters during the February 16 Crab Trap Removal. Eighty percent of the traps came from the Galveston and San Antonio Bay systems. In San Antonio Bay, 274 traps were removed this year.

The yearly Crab Trap Removal Program began in 2002, and since its inception, 30,414 crab traps have been removed – the most removed by any state with a similar program.

Each year, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) closes crabbing in all Texas waters for a 10-day period in February. Any trap left in the water during those ten days is considered “litter” under state law and is susceptible to being removed.

Abandoned crab traps result in the inadvertent death of several aquatic species including, but not limited to, blue crabs, estuarine sport fish, stone crabs, birds, diamond-backed terrapins, river otter, and–if found on land–terrestrial animals as well. Not only are abandoned traps hazardous to wildlife, they are unsightly, problematic for fishers and boaters, and can even smother seagrasses.

Working to dispose of the abandoned crab traps were Wally Bubley of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and CCA members Susie Onishi and Mike Sharp.