Louisiana lands more blue crab than any state, and loses more traps. A fleet that size, in marsh that moves, on a coast that gets hurricanes, leaves traps behind, and a lost trap keeps fishing. It catches crabs that die and become bait for the next crabs, and it takes fish, terrapins, and diving birds along the way. The state's answer is the Derelict Crab Trap Removal Program, and it's the reason your basin closes to traps for a stretch every winter.
How it works
Each fall the Wildlife and Fisheries Commission adopts a Notice of Intent listing the basins that will close the following year, usually five or six areas, each for a defined window in February or March. During a closure, no crab trap may be in the water in that area; any trap found is presumed derelict and is removed, along with whatever it's caught. LDWF, Louisiana Sea Grant, the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, and volunteers pull them.
Since 2016 the Pontchartrain Basin program alone has removed more than 11,700 traps and released over 6,000 crabs and dozens of other species from them.
The rodeo
LDWF runs a volunteer "derelict crab trap rodeo" in a rotating basin most years, with boats, disposal, and food. It's the one day a year you can legally pull traps that aren't yours. Sign-up runs through Louisiana Fisheries Forward.
What it means for you
- Know your basin's dates before the season. They change every year. LDWF posts them; check in the fall.
- Pull every trap, including the ones you've been meaning to get to. A trap in a closed basin is gone whether it was fishing or not, and there's no compensation.
- Mark and tag every trap so a recovered one comes back to you instead of a landfill.
- Rig every trap with open, correctly placed escape rings. A derelict trap with rings lets the undersized out; one with plugged rings kills everything.
The bigger picture
Louisiana's fishery is certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council, the first blue crab fishery to get there. Ring rules, the immature-female ban, mandatory training for new commercial crabbers, and the derelict trap program are the pieces that certification rests on. They're also why buyers pay for Louisiana crab.
Building traps that come back? Start with the rigging guide and the door hooks.