Welcome to Skagit County

June 14, 2002

Derelict Gear Inventory Project in Skagit County Waters

Nets and other types of fishing equipment that are lost or abandoned during recreational and commercial seafood harvest often pose serious hazards to both humans and wildlife. Scuba divers, boaters and fishermen as well as fish, crab, marine birds and mammals are all at risk of injury, damage or death when encountering "derelict gear" such as gill & trawl nets, crab & shrimp traps/pots, ropes & buoys and fishing hooks & monofilament lines. Often lost by accidentally getting caught on the jagged, underwater rocks and reefs, this derelict gear continues to catch both target prey and by-catch species long after it's abandoned.

The Skagit County Marine Resources Committee (MRC), a citizen-advisory group to the Board of Commissioners, has received funding to inventory existing derelict gear in local marine waters and work towards its removal. The MRC's Derelict Gear Inventory Project will inform the public about derelict gear and the dangers they pose to people, marine wildlife and habitat, collect public input on derelict gear locations and prioritize the information for use in removal efforts. Derelict gear that exists in any of the MRC's 8 Rocky Reef/Bottomfish Reserve candidate sites will be of special concern.

This project coincides with a regional effort by the Northwest Straits Commission (NWSC) to do the same in the Northwest Straits area of Juan de Fuca Strait and northern Puget Sound. The NWSC project will develop derelict gear removal and disposal protocols, identify and prioritize derelict gear locations, and begin removal efforts.

In addition, the Washington State Legislature recently passed Bill #6313, which identifies the Department of Fish & Wildlife as the lead agency for this issue, legally charging them to cooperate with the Northwest Straits Commission and the Department of Natural Resources to publish guidelines for the removal and disposal of derelict fishing gear, create and maintain a database and to evaluate methods to reduce future losses of gear.

The MRC is planning educational and outreach materials, public comment forums and presentations to community partner groups. Through coordination with the NWSC project, a derelict gear "hotline" and a computer database will be established to collect detailed information. Watch for future announcements as the project moves forward. Information on the MRC and the NWSC can be found at www.nwstraits.org or contact Skagit County Public Works at 360/336-9400 to be added to the MRC's mailing list for the project.