Commercial fishermen spent three days removing "ghost pots" this week from North Carolina's waters as part of a two-year grant from the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) to clean up the crab pots and re-purpose them into oyster reefs. Jason Rolfe, the MDP's Mid-Atlantic regional coordinator participated and said they were on pace to exceed last year's removal numbers.

North Carolina Coastal Federation, the group leading the project, hired 24 fishermen to remove ghost pots from waters in the Outer Banks when the crab fishery is closed for the winter. Last year, the group removed 201 pots and dipped them in concrete to prepare them for reuse.

Now that the second cleanup has concluded, the Coastal Federation will encase the second haul in concrete along with the first to create approximately 300 feet of artificial reef. The project will conclude this summer.

For further information, contact Jason.Rolfe@noaa.gov.

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