Derelict Fishing Gear Processing Day 2024 at Stockton University Marine Field Station
APRIL 15, 2024 — On April 8, the NOAA Marine Debris Program, within OR&R, participated in a derelict fishing gear processing day organized by Stockton University as part of their FY22/23 Inflation Reduction Act award. Participating in the gear processing event were Stockton University researchers and staff, roughly 20 undergraduate students, several commercial crabbers, and a member of Senator Cory Booker’s staff. Marine Debris Program Deputy Director MaryLee Haughwout and Mid-Atlantic Regional Coordinator Katie Morgan also participated.
Over the course of three hours, the students and commercial crabbers together processed several hundred derelict crab pots, determining which pots were fit for reuse and return to the crabbers, and which were deteriorated to the point that disposal and recycling were the only solution.
The gear processed during this event was removed from the Mullica River - Great Bay estuary in southern New Jersey, in partnership with local commercial crabbers during the winter removal season which occurred in February and March 2024. Stockton University students participated in gear identification through the use of side scan sonar technology and supported additional data collection on the gear removed.