January 16, 2025 — The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) and William and Mary’s Coastal Sciences school are leading the charge nationwide to clean up discarded fishing gear and “ghost pots” from U.S. waterways.
William & Mary’s Batten School and VIMS, administrators of the National Fishing Trap Removal, Assessment, and Prevention (TRAP) Program, has awarded $1.4 million to fund 11 projects to retrieve derelict lobster and crab traps in 2025. This initial round supports projects in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, New York, Washington and the Pacific Island State of Palau, as well as ongoing efforts by the Virginia Marine Debris Program.
In 2023, using funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Marine Debris Program awarded an $8 million, four-year competitive grant to the Batten School & VIMS to administer the TRAP program. One important feature of the project will be standardizing data collection practices and establishing a national database to evaluate the environmental and economic impacts of these projects.