Ghost Crab Pot round up Information

Inland Bay Boaters Can Get Permits To Remove Ghost Crab Pots

(January 18, 2022) … From the desk of Kate Fleming, Coastal Ecology Specialist, Delaware Sea Grant, University of Delaware College of Earth, Ocean and Environment … Attached is the permit application (downloadable below) if you or others want to apply to remove pots this winter. I talked to F&W and they said that if folks contact them about a permit they will tell them to contact me to coordinate. The permit will be yours (or whoever wants to submit) but I can help you fill out:

Name, date, address: self-explanatory

Institution and official position: may be N/A for some folks, depending who is applying. (In other words are you an organization doing this or an individual.)

Year permit is to be used: 2022

List names of who will be on the permit: self-explanatory

Purpose of Collecting (I ran this language by F&W so this is what I recommend):
To document bycatch present in derelict or ghost crab pots hauled from____________ (location) during Jan – Feb 2022. Derelict crab pots will not be removed from Collins Creek, Whites Creek, or Indian River.
We will contact Kate Fleming at kfleming@udel.edu to coordinate disposal of derelict crab pots.
Removed pots will be brought to Delaware Sea Grant’s staging site on planned round-up days or to University of Delaware, Lewes, by appointment before March 1, 2022. All live bycatch will be released on site.

Collection Gear to be used:
Type/Method: My permit lists Crab Pots/Grappling Hooks. (I don’t know if they (dnrec) would allow other methods. FYI my funder does not)
Dimensions: 24”X24”X18”
Frequency of Use: Up to 6 days in January and February 2022 (I have 6 days on my permit, don’t know if they would entertain something else).

Attention … We asked that folks stay out of certain areas (e.g. whites creek, Collins creek, Beach Cove) because we have some research questions we are trying to answer in those locations and if we remove pots from those areas we’ll need to take careful coordinates etc. We are trying to avoid it entirely but if we have trouble in Indian river we may try holts. That’s also why we asked the state to limit pot removal to Jan and Feb (excluding December, since we’ll be doing a lot of mapping).

Kate Fleming
Coastal Ecology Specialist
Delaware Sea Grant
University of Delaware College of Earth, Ocean and Environment .

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