Abandoned/lost crab and prawn traps?

[Silent knots]

What is the accepted general practice when you observe the same trap in the same spot for months on end... no contact info? According to the DFO I spoke with, if you take them it's theft so I advised of the locations of about a dozen and while he stated they would go and remove them, they're still there a month later.

Is it illegal to take them with intent to post online including location of pick up in order to try to locate an owner? Is it illegal to take them for personal use, post for free or WHY?

If there is no identification and they are clearly abandoned, is it really theft?

Before anyone gets the wrong idea... I am not a trap thief, just keen to clean up some old/abandoned items and looking for the legal avenue to do so.

 

[wildthing]

no name
and if they have floated from who knows where

and lines are covered in you know what

feel free got my blessing to tidy them up and
for the grief of pulling in a smelly mess then you can keep'em

 

[Last Chance]

I really don't see the need to complicate a rather simple obvious answer... I think that if everyone remove a bit of debris from the water once in a while that our oceans would be a better place

 

[seadna]

Are you sure they are lost and don't simply belong to a local who runs out, pulls them up and re-drops in the same spot? Maybe someone on shore with a dinghy?

 

[fishchaser]

Removal of these unwanted traps will also increase our safety of cruising to the fishing grounds before day break. Many crabbers do not hesitate to drop their pots in our basic cruise areas.

 

[Fisherman Rob]

I would say if the rope has mussels growing on it, then it's an abandoned trap. Please pull it out of the way!

 

[Silent knots]

Are you sure they are lost and don't simply belong to a local who runs out, pulls them up and re-drops in the same spot? Maybe someone on shore with a dinghy?

I can't tell you if they are 'lost' or 'abandoned' but I can tell you, with respect to the ones I have observed, that they were in the same spots for well over 3 months before I reported their existance and it's been another 2 months. No names, no numbers (growth) and we've been out days on end with nobody having checked them. Heck, if there is no identification, they shouldn't be there anyway, no?

I'm hopelessly waiting on phone calls for a prawn (Cherry Point) and crab trap (Sidney Island) that mysteriously disappeared.... I was hopeful they would turn up where someone would notice no activitiy and have a look... but no such luck.

 

[trophywife]

pull em. anything without identifying on the float, what , where, or who is poaching.

plus from your description , they are abandoned.

 

[hambone]

Fair enough... But this opens up an opportunity for thieves to claim there was some weeds on the line so they pulled the gear. I think DFO should do a sweep every once in a while and remove unmarked gear. I've heard of this happening but it's a pretty big coast we live on. I think Lastchance says it best, if it's clearly an ancient line then discreetly get rid of it.

By the way, what's a fair penatly for someone stealing your gear when you drive up on them?? Death?

 

[finaddict]

Fair enough... But this opens up an opportunity for thieves to claim there was some weeds on the line so they pulled the gear. I think DFO should do a sweep every once in a while and remove unmarked gear. I've heard of this happening but it's a pretty big coast we live on. I think Lastchance says it best, if it's clearly an ancient line then discreetly get rid of it.

By the way, what's a fair penatly for someone stealing your gear when you drive up on them?? Death?

Boarding with sabers drawn, a plank walk and scuttle by fire........................

 

[Peahead]

Just an example of the junk people leave out there - we've likely all had to deal with this:

My rigger hooks onto a sunken crab trap line with no float at the surface. Untangling the mess needed me to pull the whole mess up. The top 20 feet of rope and then finally a float, was very laden with small immature mussels so likely so heavy sank it below water line, especially in current. Pulled the heavy mess on board ( no sign of old bait whatsoever in the bait cage and no crabs). Decided it was most certainly lost and when done for day took it to marina garbage bin. When back at marina I then noticed a very barely legible faint phone number through the mess on float. Called the number and the guy was clearly annoyed I had pulled up his trap despite the fact it had clearly become a sunken rogue. Guy picks it up from my marina and rather than a thank-you I get attitude. Well .....turns out the guy stores it out in the waters out in front of his West Vancouver waterfront home ( leaves it out all year ) and admitted not having been out to check it for some time ( hmmm month or more ?)

 

[Fixit]

in order to steal traps, they would have to have an owner.
if there is a bunch of growth, mussles etc and no name or phone number (as required by DFO law) then i dont see how removing those deralick traps is anything but a good thing.

or just write your name on the float, and ta da! theyre obviously yours!!!


im all for being able to return someones gear, and i have done so on 4 occasions. a crappy crab trap from WA, lost 1 year prior. a (cut/broken) off float from south fraser arm. a set up by anvil island floating in 1200 ft of water, and another, someone from my marina who lost them by boyer island the weekend prior.

on the other hand ive also inherited gear with no contact info, or gear that the phone number is no longer in service.

 

[Big_Shank]

I was fishing at the Sidney fishing pier on Monday, just messing around with my trout rod trying for some flounder/sculpin. I snagged what I thought was the bottom but thanks to the 20lb mono on my reel, this came up from the briney depths below.. No identification, no bait and no crabs. It had been there since before squid mating season(whenever that is...) and had numerous egg clusters on it.