Long Lost Crab Traps

I've been nursing a shoulder injury all summer so have been going out in my full size boat from Bodega and Tomales and roaming the area from Jenner to Pt Reyes. During those outings I have come alongside of several crab buoys that are very low in the water and have obviously been in the water all summer. What is a concerned citizen to do about this. Should one try to pull them?

I would call the DFG, they have the authority to remove them.

I saw TONS of crab pots out there during the hot salmon bite out of Doran...

Good chance they are so deeply mudded in you won't be able to pull them. DFW won't do anything about it. After commercial crab season closes its common practice for the commercial salmon fishermen to pull derelict pots Because running into them can cost us upwards of a grand in lost gear and ruin a days worth of fishing which could cost many thousands.

Not to mention they could cause a serious problem if it were to entangle with the prop & render a vessel adrift

Don't they have the numbers for the commercial boat on them, assuming they are commercial?  Shouldn't they be given a citation and/or charged for removal?  Seems only right ...

-Allen

Pull em and try to notify owner or trash em... Most stolen are probably just lost... Set at low tide tight roped top the float NOT during crab season though

I thought the only poeople who can pull a trap are thopse authorised to do it.
29.80.(3) It is unlawful to disturb, move, or
damage any trap; or remove any saltwater
crustacean from a trap, that belongs to
another person without written permission
in possession from the owner of the trap


Further down: (2) Any hoop net abandoned or left unchecked for more then 2 hours may be considered abandoned
and may be seized by any person authorized to enforce these regulations.

I think you may be talking about the ones out in front of estero Americano.  I saw those  several weeks ago and they really looked old.  If they are marked I don't think you could read what was on them.  They look like a real hazard navigation.

Mark

Commercial guys usually set a bunch in the same area. I really think most of these are guys who have just lost the gps numbers. I'm going to start pulling them if I can. You can tell they have been there for eons they are black from scum growing on them.

I took a hike on the Estero beach a few months ago and saw several pots on the sand, They were not commercial pots. Too small. They were also not worth the effort to fool with. Poor construction as well as eroded. Pulling any stuck pot especially a  100 pound commercial pot off the bottom in a yak would be a real project.