January 30, 2026 — The North Carolina Coastal Federation is asking more commercial fishers to enlist in its Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project to locate and collect lost crab pots.
The Federation kicked off the project in January. For 12 years, the Federation worked in cooperation with the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) to remove lost crab pots from the North Carolina sounds and waterways.
“Every year, crab pots and other fishing gear are lost in our sounds in a variety of ways. Lost gear can get hung up or drift into channels, creating serious hazards for boaters, wildlife, and fishermen,” Federation representatives wrote in a press release.
Commercial fishers are hired to collect pots during the annual closure of internal coastal waters to all crab, eel, fish and shrimp pots. The closure runs Jan. 1-31 for waters north and east of the Highway 58 bridge over Bogue Sound to Emerald Isle, and March 1-15 for waters south and west of the Highway 58 bridge to Emerald Isle.