Donna Marie Bilkovic, Kirk Havens, David Stanhope, Kory Angstadt,
Derelict fishing gear in Chesapeake Bay, Virginia: Spatial patterns and
implications for marine fauna, Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 80,
Issues 1–2, 15 March 2014, Pages 114-123, ISSN 0025-326X,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.01.034.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X14000356)
Abstract: Derelict fishing gear is a source of mortality for target and
non-target marine species. A program employing commercial watermen to
remove marine debris provided a novel opportunity to collect extensive
spatially-explicit information for four consecutive winters (2008–2012)
on the type, distribution, and abundance of derelict fishing gear and
bycatch in Virginia waters of Chesapeake Bay. The most abundant form of
derelict gear recovered was blue crab pots with almost 32,000 recovered.
Derelict pots were widely distributed, but with notable hotspot areas,
capturing 40 species and over 31,000 marine organisms. The target
species, blue crab, experienced the highest mortality from lost pots
with an estimated 900,000 animals killed each year, a potential annual
economic loss to the fishery of $300,000. Important fishery species were
captured and killed in derelict pots including Atlantic croaker and
black sea bass. While some causes of gear loss are unavoidable, others
can be managed to minimize loss.
Keywords: Blue crab; Bycatch; Derelict fishing gear; Diamondback
terrapin; Eastern oyster; Marine debris