Summer crab trap check workshops kick off July 12

Delaware Sea Grant will host several crab trap check workshops geared toward recreational crabbers who seek their prey in Delaware’s Inland Bays.

Recreational crabbers will learn about the ecological and recreational problems lost crab pots can cause for the Delaware Inland Bays. They will also have an opportunity to update their individual crab pots for free to prevent crab loss and ghost fishing.

Participants are allowed to bring two pots each, and Delaware Sea Grant professionals will be on hand to add new floats, rope, cull rings and terrapin excluders as needed.

Brittany Haywood, a coastal ecology specialist for Delaware Sea Grant, oversees the events and said an important aspect is to educate the public on how to avoid losing their crab pots. This will not only benefit the ecology of the bays, but also help individuals keep their investments intact.

Presentations, with crab trap checks to follow, are set for 6:30 p.m., Friday, July 12, at Bay Colony Clubhouse, 29467 Colony Drive, Dagsboro; 10 a.m., Friday, July 26, at Warwick Park, 31234 River Road, Millsboro; and 10 a.m., Tuesday, Aug. 13, at James Farm Ecological Preserve, 30048 Cedar Neck Road, Ocean View. 

For more information, go to deseagrant.org/events-all, email haywoobl@udel.edu or call 302-831-7005.

“These crab pots are not cheap, and so if they're not rigged properly, people are losing money when they get lost,” said Haywood. “This is an effort not only to help from the fisheries side of things, but also to help each individual person not have to spend unwanted funds.”

This project is funded by the National Sea Grant Office, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.