April 26, 2023 — NOAA Fisheries tapped William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) to lead a new nationwide program to reduce “ghost fishing” by derelict crab and lobster pots abandoned or lost to storms and vessel entanglements. The new role comes with a record $8 million grant for VIMS to administer the program.
This Trap Removal, Assessment & Prevention (TRAP) program will include partner institutions, commercial fishermen, and interested Native tribes in the Pacific Northwest and along the Atlantic coast from Florida to the Gulf of Maine. The TRAP program will initially focus on the gear used to catch crabs (blue, Dungeness, and stone) and lobsters (American and spiny). Federal funding for the program overall is $8 million over four years, distributed by the VIMS Center for Coastal Resources Management (CCRM) through a competitive grant program.