ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Volunteers are needed to remove debris, including abandoned crab traps, from Tampa Bay's coastal waterways.
Ocean Aid 360, Tampa Bay Watch, Clearwater Marine Aquarium, and Coastal Impact Fund are hosting the Ghost Trap Rodeo Tournament Series on July 15 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Volunteers may meet at two locations: Belleair Causeway and Fort DeSoto Park boat ramp.
Neill Holland is the president of Ocean Aid 360. He said the event is free to attend, and people may win prizes. He is looking to recruit volunteers with boats or people to walk the shoreline looking for debris.
"We’re seeing lost and abandoned blue crab traps, stone crab traps and down in south Florida, we’re seeing spiny lobster traps that go missing or get left out after season," said Holland.
Since the traveling tournament began in 2018, thousands of volunteers have helped to remove over 175,000 pounds of marine debris, including 2,591 abandoned or derelict traps from the coastal waterways of Florida and the Caribbean.
Holland said abandoned crab traps continue to ghost fish and pose a hazard to boaters.
"They’re trapping marine life, which dies inside the box because it can’t find its way out, and then all that happens is it baits the trap for the next cycle of marine life to come behind them," said Holland.
Interested volunteers should visit here.
