DerelictGear Placemat FINAL 20170710 17x11 .pdf

Lost and Found:

REMOVAL EFFORTS A SUCCESS!

Searching for
lost crab pots

Every dot on this map represents a
crab pot, buoy or line removed from
Washington’s waters!

THAT’S A LOT OF CRABS!
The marine waters off the Washington coast are some of
the most productive fishing grounds in the world, including
for Dungeness crab. An average of 14 million pounds of
Dungeness crab are harvested in Washington each year!

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QU INAU LT
INDIAN
NAT ION

WHERE DO LOST CRAB POTS GO?
CAN YOU
FIND THE
LOST CRAB
POTS?
CIRCLE OR
COLOR
THEM IN.

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Copalis Beach

QUINAULT DERELICT GEAR PROJECT
The coast is home to the Quinault Indian Nation, which
has the largest tribal crab fishery in Washington. They
depend heavily on the ocean for their economic wellbeing and cultural identity. The Quinault Nation and The
Nature Conservancy began working together in 2012 to
clean up lost fishing gear, with support from NOAA and
WA Department of Ecology. To remove lost pots and lines,
the project partners use pumps and line cutters to prevent
entanglement of marine life. This community-based project
will result in improved habitats for marine mammals and
fish while creating a safer ocean for everyone.

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Fishing for Dungeness crabs often happens when the
weather is stormy. This means that the pots used to catch
the crabs are easily lost at sea—more than 10,000 pots are
potentially lost each year. What happens when a crab pot
gets left behind? It continues to catch and kill animals and
will do so until the gear is either removed from the water,
buried by sediment, or the biodegradable escapement
devices break down enough so that it no longer can trap
animals. Many lost pots have lines and buoys attached,
which can lead to the entanglement of whales and other
marine mammals. Lost fishing gear also poses a safety
hazard to fishermen and others traveling in small vessels—it
can get tangled in boat propellers and has even been linked
to the sinking of several vessels along the coast.

Ocean City

Ocean
Shores

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Grays
Harbor

1000+

SQUARE MILES

POTS, LINES & BOUYS

of habitat in and around
the Quinault Indian Nation
Treaty Fishing Area are
included in the project.

removed from the coast,
with plans in place to remove
more, and prevent them from
getting lost in the future.

Westport

Buoy/Line Removed

Crab Pot Removed