http:\/\/www.vims.edu\/newsandevents\/topstories\/derelict_dilemma.php<\/p>\n
Removal of derelict fishing gear has major economic impact<\/p>\n
by David Malmquist | January 21, 2016<\/p>\n
Study shows Bay watermen earned extra $20M from removal of ghost pots<\/p>\n
A new study by researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science
\nshows that a 6-year program to remove derelict crab pots from lower
\nChesapeake Bay generated more than $20 million in harvest value for area
\nwatermen.<\/p>\n
Lead author Andrew Scheld, an assistant professor at VIMS, says \u201cit\u2019s
\nwell known that derelict fishing gear can harm the environment and
\nincrease crab mortality, but the economic impacts of this \u2018ghost
\nfishing\u2019 have rarely been quantified. Our study shows that VIMS\u2019
\ncollaborative efforts to remove ghost crab pots from the lower Bay led
\nto an additional 13,504 metric tons in harvest valued at $21.3 million\u2014a
\n27% increase above that which would have occurred had the pots stayed in
\nplace.\u201d<\/p>\n
The study, co-authored by VIMS professors Donna Bilkovic and Kirk
\nHavens, appears in today’s issue of Scientific Reports, an online,
\nopen-access journal from the publishers of Nature. The research was
\nsupported by NOAA\u2019 s Marine Debris Program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
http:\/\/www.vims.edu\/newsandevents\/topstories\/derelict_dilemma.php Removal of derelict fishing gear has major economic impact by David Malmquist | January 21, 2016 Study shows Bay watermen earned extra $20M from removal of ghost pots A new study by researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science shows that a 6-year program to remove derelict crab pots from lower Chesapeake Bay generated more than $20 million in harvest value for area watermen. Lead author Andrew Scheld, an assistant professor at VIMS, says \u201cit\u2019s well known that derelict fishing gear can harm the environment and increase crab mortality, but the economic impacts of this \u2018ghost fishing\u2019 have rarely been quantified. Our study shows that VIMS\u2019 collaborative efforts to remove ghost crab pots from the lower Bay led to an additional 13,504 metric tons in harvest valued at $21.3 million\u2014a 27% increase above that which would have occurred had the pots stayed in place.\u201d The study, co-authored by VIMS professors Donna Bilkovic and Kirk Havens, appears in today’s issue of Scientific Reports, an online, open-access journal from the publishers of Nature. The research was supported by NOAA\u2019 s Marine Debris Program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3484,3488],"tags":[2467,1309],"yoast_head":"\n