Thousands of crab pots are lost at the bottom of Puget Sound

Officials say the litter is posing dangers to crabs and other marine life.

  • By Wire Service
  • Thursday, May 31, 2018 8:02am
  • Northwest

Associated Press

ANACORTES — Officials say thousands of lost crab pots are littering the bottom of Puget Sound, posing dangers to crabs and other marine life.

KOMO-TV reports some boaters spent time earlier this week fishing for the derelict pots off the shores of Anacortes.

Jason Morgan from the Northwest Straits Foundation says it could be the highest density of pots they’ve seen. Officials say there are more than 600 lost crab pots littering the bottom of the waters near Anacortes.

Officials with the foundation said every year 12,000 crab pots are lost in Puget Sound mostly because of user error.

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The foundation has a goal of cleaning up 1,000 derelict pots this year. A portion of the cost of every state crab license goes toward their efforts.

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