Lobster/Crab/Shrimp traps - aaaaargh!

[Sailingallday]

Well, after many many miles, it has finally happened to me - caught a lobster trap in my prop. Sailing a catamaran at night between Portland and Adelaide, Australia. Approx 10 miles off shore. Didn’t see the damn thing at all. Boat slowed right down and I couldn’t figure out why. First thought there was a big current against me but then saw two floats behind the boat. Could hardly lift the line to cut it free. Everything disappeared but I could still see line wrapped in the prop (which had not been in use). Too dark to deal with in the night so at daylight I jumped in and cut it all free. Water temp 11.8c. Damn cold!

Some commercial fisherman is now missing his trap. Sucks to be him, but he should mark it for all conditions (including night). It’s the same issue all over the world. Lobsters on the east coast of NA. Crabs on the west. Lobsters in the South Pacific. And the unattended, limited warning hazards of commercial fishermen.

Who else has caught one? It’s easy to say don’t sail at night, but sometimes it’s the only viable option.

[deblen]

How many miles before you caught one??
Cheers/Len

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB_9OiGNjH4

[Sailingallday]

Ha - I sailed to Halifax in May. Came in from offshore and suddenly there were traps everywhere. No clear route through. Slow going and amazed I didn’t get one there.

[deblen]

Originally Posted by Sailingallday

Ha - I sailed to Halifax in May. Came in from offshore and suddenly there were traps everywhere. No clear route through. Slow going and amazed I didn’t get one there.

USA leave their traps out year round. Once you cross to CDN waters of NB & NS,no traps from Jun30 til Nov.


Suggest you think about installing a "rope shedder" from bottom of saildrive(s) forward,at 45 deg.,up to the hull.
Could be ss cable,alum. rod,etc.


Winged keels need similar.


Water temp here is more like 6-9C,chilly for jumping in. /Len

[rls8r]

Yep, sucks to be him. But remember - it's an inconvenience to you, but it's his livelihood. Sure, there are plenty of inconsiderate watermen out there who put their traps where they think the lobsters/crabs are so they can feed their family - even if they encroach the channel. However, it's also not unknown for the pots to have been blown to another place - or picked up by a non-commercial waterman (say, perhaps a hungry or curious cruiser) and taken elsewhere before being emptied and thrown back.

I used to be a commercial waterman with 250 crab pots on the Potomac River in Virginia. I used to find my pots everywhere - even in the back of a station wagon at a gas station in the town where I lived. When I asked the folks how they got in the back of their car - they told me that they thought the pots had been abandoned (or fell off some boat) in the river - nobody was around, so they picked them up.

It's annoying to pick up a pot - especially when it's where it shouldn't be. And often the easiest way to deal with the situation is to simply cut it loose. But - I'll ask that if you have the time and inclination, and if it's possible - at least attempt to re-tie the float (which should have markings that tell to whom the pot belongs) before sending it on its way. Try to think of the man trying to make a living, or who may have been the victim himself, instead of the man who was inconsiderate.

Yep, it sucks being a waterman. But it sucks even more when the equipment you use to feed your family and pay your bills disappear.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Sailingallday

... Who else has caught one? It’s easy to say don’t sail at night, but sometimes it’s the only viable option.

It's, a little, ironic, coming from a sailor named “Sailingallday”.

[Island Time O25]

I get "it's a livelihood" thing but not in the middle of the narrow channel with high level of traffic on a weekend. We also get a lot of them right in the middle of the crowded mooring field.

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by Sailingallday

................. It’s easy to say don’t sail at night, but sometimes it’s the only viable option.

It's not the only option. Stay put if you cannot see where you are going.

It could be a floating log or even an unlit boat.

Moving when you can't see where you are going is unwise and unsafe.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Island Time O25

I get "it's a livelihood" thing but not in the middle of the narrow channel with high level of traffic on a weekend. We also get a lot of them right in the middle of the crowded mooring field.

Agreed. In places like that, it's always struck me not just as a nuisance, but also a risky bet for the fishermen as they have a much higher risk of ending up with damaged or lost gear when it's placed in areas with a higher risk of being run over (and isn't made readily visible at night).

[rls8r]

Island Time O25 noticed pots ... "in the middle of the narrow channel" and "right in the middle of the crowded mooring field."

Admittedly, it is an inconsiderate waterman who places pots in those areas - and one who is virtually asking for his pots to disappear. Watermen usually (almost always) place their pots in lines. Fishing the pots is a choreography of effort where the waterman's boat travels in a straight line down the row of pots with the waterman picking up a pot, shaking it clean of nettles, emptying the bait box, opening and emptying the pot of wildlife, closing the pot, re-baiting the bait box and throwing the pot back over just before the boat comes up on the next one. Doing that in a busy channel or crowded mooring field would make an already difficult job even more difficult if the waterman had to dodge traffic in the channel or wend through the mooring field dodging mooring balls and the boats tied to them.

So, when you see a pot in a channel - take a look and see if it is a member of a line of pots. If not - it could be that it was blown into the channel, or perhaps it was placed near the channel and it rolled "downhill" into the channel. It's been known to happen - especially if the bottom is not grass or soft mud. Or, like I said previously, it could be that someone picked up the pot, emptied it, and then tossed it overboard when they were in the channel. I've seen folks in sailboats and powerboats (especially outboards) who don't confine their boating to the channels.

You should see the waterman fishing the pots in the morning in the mooring field. We get up pretty early; we're usually at the first pot when there's just enough light to see it - hoping to be done by the time the sun makes the day unbearably hot and so we can get the catch to market early. Ask the waterman why he chose to put the pots in the mooring field. If the subtle hint doesn't prompt the waterman to move the pots - then report them to the local fisheries agency. I know on the Bay (and I suspect in most areas) there are designated areas where pots can be placed - and where they cannot be placed (like, in a channel).

About making the floats visible at night ... what do folks have in mind? This could be a big opportunity to make some money by inventing a float light that would be reasonably priced (being a waterman is not a high profit job), buoyant (or at least, very light), immune to being run over, long-lasting, low-maintenance, always visible to approaching craft, etc. The areas where pots are located would start to look like airport taxiways (which some folks think are quite lovely - or at least, impressive).

[Phyrcooler]

There is so much that fishermen COULD do to help alleviate this problem. Most of the ones around here you can barely see during the day due to asinine float color choice and filth. Low draw/long lasting LED lights are so commonly available, that a nighttime solution could be contrived by a middle schooler IF the fisherman cared or desired. So, no, I don’t buy into the “poor fisherman” excuse anymore. There’s NO excuse for these things to be hiding in high trafffic areas like they do when they could easily be made visible.

[Sailingallday]

Hell, just use sinking line so there is nothing floating on the surface except the float. Very tough for anyone to tangle in it then. There is absolutely no need for the 50 m of line to be floating across the surface

[Moana Bella]

Yep, caught 2 along that same stretch of water. Luckily in a cat, and we had put the centreboards down to protect the rudders. Still a hell of a job to free them at 3am in the dark.
The crew member who wouldn't let us winch the damn thing up to check for crays has never forgiven himself. LOL
seriously - black floats on half of them, so don't anybody dare say "keep a watch".
Next time it's crayfish sandwiches for breakkie!

[MicHughV]

I've come across lobster traps many mile offshore near the coast of Maine, but they are typically marked with a radar reflector.
If it's foggy, which it usually is, and you don't have radar, you could have a problem.

Closer to shore, there are millions of traps, and sooner or later, you'll end up snagging one. Personally, would not dream of sailing at night along the Maine coast.

Can't speak for Australia, but sailing in Maine is challenging.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by rls8r

Yep, sucks to be him. But remember - it's an inconvenience to you, but it's his livelihood. Sure, there are plenty of inconsiderate watermen out there who put their traps where they think the lobsters/crabs are so they can feed their family - even if they encroach the channel. .

By that logic we should all get out of the way of transport trucks on the highway as they are trying to make a living so rules shouldn't apply to them.