last week the dnr police finally raised a 1400 pound gill net near bouy 82 off of tilghman island. the illegal net-which had been in the bay most of the winter-held three tons of dead fish, including 450 rockfish weighing 6750 pounds. please report the a-hole(s) who did this if you know their name(s)...and please sign the pound net petition to eliminate legal nets from our waters...i've been fishing the last two weekends and havent caught a thing...now i know where they went: to the landfill!
a lot of people never think about the effects abandoned fishing equipment has on their environment: it can be devastating...and sad. the ghost crab pot program in the chesapeake bay has helped out, but ghost gill nets are a bigger problem. the national oceanic and atmospheric administration is studying the effects of lost nets in a variety of waters, including the chesapeake bay. they found 190 different species-thousands and thousands of animals, birds and fish- caught in old salmon gill nets in pugent sound. so, watch your lines!
the winter watermen in maryland are busy in this off-season collecting abandoned "ghost" crab pots from the bottom of the chesapeake bay. last year's program in virginia was a great success.
this year the state of virginia started a program to remove abandoned crab pots and other debris from the chesapeake bay. 58 watermen participated in the program which covered over 1500 square miles and recovered 8600 pots, along with 61 nets and a baby stroller. this is a fantastic program coordinated by the virginia institute of marine science (VIMS)! not only did it replace income for the watermen lost due to the elimination of the winter dredge, it will help revive the health of the ailing bay: almost 5000 animals were killed while trapped in these derelict pots. This is the only large-scale program of its kind in the country that seeks out and removes unmarked, submerged, derelict crab pots using side-imaging equipment. very cool. support vims, please.
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