230 crab traps pulled from Deadman’s Bay

Posted on February 3, 2021

By Debra Butler
It was a cold and windy January morning when I met up with Taylor County Marine Agent and University of Florida Marine Biologist Victor Blanco at the Steinhatchee Boat Ramp.
Blanco, along with members of the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO), the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and the University of Florida Nature Coast Biological Station (NCBS), had spent the early part of the morning retrieving derelict crab traps from Deadman’s Bay off the Taylor County coast.
The timing of the annual crab trap removal coincides with winter full moons and the extremely low (negative) tides common during the winter months, which allow for easy trap identification and retrieval of the derelict traps.
With the tide completely out and much of the normally-submerged sea floor highly exposed, this team of professionals can only access the area by airboat.
Blanco was assigned the job of climbing out of the boat and examining each crab trap to determine its condition before alerting others for help with the retrieval.
Determination of whether a crab trap is derelict is based on two factors.
If both the buoy and rope are missing from the crab trap, then the trap is considered abandoned and it is removed.
Additionally, if a trap is badly broken, it is pulled from the water. Sometimes though, a non-functioning trap takes on a life of its own after being abandoned, becoming a reef teeming with life and is left where it is.
“It is common to find some traps totally packed with oysters if they’ve been in the water for a long time,” said Blanco.
Allowing functioning derelict traps to remain in the water is dangerous for both crabs and fish alike, as they can become trapped and left to die.
Due to the area in and around Deadman Bay being naturally shallow, abandoned traps with no buoys attached can also cause damage to boats and their motors.
On this particular day, 230 derelict traps were removed from the waters between Dallus Creek and the Steinhatchee River – located just a few miles apart from one another.
Last year the team went out on two different days and brought in a total of 500 derelict traps.
Blanco also described the sad sight of seeing prop scars made visible by the seabed exposure. “There are four different species of seagrass in our area. Boaters don’t understand the damage done by their props to the seabeds. You could see where some of the scars were made by single engine props and others by twin engines. It takes a long time for that grass to grow back,” said Blanco.
Referring to the seagrass beds, Blanco added, “You know how your yard turns yellow or brown during the winter? Well, this was the first time in my life I have ever seen the turtle grass turn yellow. At first it felt like I was hallucinating, like people do in a dessert, but it was really yellow.”