Did you know that turtles can drown in crab traps after forcing their way into the trap or by becoming entangled in the mesh and being unable to return to the surface to breathe? You can make your crab gear safer by following these tips:
- Reduce the entrance size of your crab trap to reduce the chance of a turtle entering (this is particularly important for large mouthed rectangular crab traps). This can be done by simply using either twine or an electrical cable tie to close the entrance in one or two places. It is considered that a maximum entrance size of 30 – 32cm is appropriate to prevent turtle entry.
- Convert your witches hats to hoop nets – to reduce the probability of entangling non-target animals; witches hats can easily be converted to a lift net by removing the float from above the mesh and re-attaching the float line with several lengths of lines directly to the ring.
- Check your crab gear regularly. Reducing set time for any fishing gear reduces the chances of harm to accidentally caught aquatic animals such as unwanted fish or protected species such as turtles. It also reduces the loss of gear which can sometimes move in tides and current and become marine debris if left in the water.
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