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How Removing Lost Crab Traps Is Helping Map the Chesapeake Bay

A partnership is turning routine vessel activity and lost crab trap removal into a new source of bathymetric data. In the Chesapeake Bay, the Nationwide Trap Removal, Assessment, and Prevention (TRAP) program equips commercial crabbers with side-scan sonar to locate abandoned traps. The same equipment used to clear marine debris simultaneously collects valuable mapping data about the seafloor.

A fisher on the back of a boat is surrounded by crab traps removed from the water on a cloudy day.
Last updated Tuesday, July 14, 2026 11:20am PDT