USING AN ROV TO REMOVE DERELICT CRAB POTS
The Jefferson County MRC and the Sea Dragons are working collaboratively to identify new methods for recovering derelict crab pots in the Salish Sea. The Sea Dragons is a student-run underwater robotics team focused on designing submersible remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). The goal of this partnership is to remove derelict crab pots from our local waters, as well as to demonstrate how ROVs can serve as a low cost and community-driven crab pot recovery method. In 2022, the MRC and Sea Dragons piloted the use of an ROV for removing derelict crab pots. Pots were first located using side scan sonar surveys in Discovery Bay, near Adelma Beach and between the Cape George Marina and Beckett Point, where over one hundred crab pots were detected. With a short on-the-water work schedule, the team successfully relocated six derelict crab pots and recovered three.
-- See the 2022 project summary report here
-- Read local coverage of the project here