From Feb. 20 to March 1, Texas coastal waters will be closed to crabbing with wire mesh crab traps for 10 days to facilitate the annual volunteer crab trap cleanup. Any traps left in bays — including traps tied to docks — will be assumed abandoned and considered “litter” under state law. This allows volunteers to legally remove any crab traps they find.
For the past 24 years, countless volunteers band together in February to search the Texas coastline for abandoned crab traps. The abandoned traps can foul shrimpers’ nets, snag anglers’ lines, and create unsightly views. In addition, lost or abandoned fishing gear, such as nets, traps and pots continue to catch and kill marine life (called “ghost fishing”). To date, volunteers and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) staff have hauled off nearly 45,000 of these derelict traps, saving an estimated 740,500 blue crabs.
Volunteers may focus their efforts on Feb. 21 or work at their own pace throughout the closure; traps cannot be removed prior to Feb. 20 or after March 1. Additional opportunities for land-based volunteers are available but limited.
To participate: Volunteers may pick up free tarps, gloves and additional information at their local TPWD Coastal Fisheries field stations. TPWD requests that volunteers who remove traps both record and submit information about the number of traps they collect as well as document any sightings of diamondback terrapins to Holly Grand at crabtrap@tpwd.texas.gov.
All other legal means of crabbing will not be affected during the closure period for wire crab traps.
For more information, please contact your local TPWD Coastal Fisheries office or Holly Grand via phone at: (361) 431-6003 x822 or via email: crabtrap@tpwd.texas.gov.
Learn more about the Texas Abandoned Crab Trap Removal Program’s history on the TPWD website.
