From Feb. 16-March 3, a total of 8,008 abandoned crab traps were picked up by volunteers, TPW coastal fisheries staff and game wardens, among others.

"The totals exceeded my expectations considerably," said Art Morris of TPW's Coastal Fisheries Division. "I was encouraged by the amount of volunteer turnout and the effort put out by everyone. This was a fantastic program. Everyone walked away from it dirty, muddy, and tired with a smile on their face. . . It has been a really wonderful feel-good project for everyone who was involved."

A total of 541 volunteers assisted and 223 vessels were used, according to TPW statistics. The area where the most traps were picked up was Galveston Bay where 3,163 were recovered. There were 190 volunteers there.

Texas Parks and Wildlife reports that many thousands of the wire mesh cages used to catch crabs are lost or abandoned each year. State game wardens pick up more than 2,500 traps annually, yet there are many more were left in the water to foul shrimpers' nets, snag fishermen's lines and create an unsightly view of Texas shores.

Until recently, only the trap's owner or a TPW game warden could legally remove a crab trap. The 77th Legislature of Texas created an abandoned crab trap removal program (SB 1410), sponsored by Sen. "Buster" Brown (R-Lake Jackson) and Rep. Debra Danburg (D-Houston), that authorized the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission to close crabbing in Texas waters for a short period and remove all traps that are found. This year from Feb. 16-March 3, all Texas coastal waters were closed to crabbing while TPW staff and volunteers scoured the bays in an attempt to remove lost and abandoned traps.

"There were a lot of traps on the bottom of the bays and the folks who usually find them didn't want to. They are often shrimpers whose nets get caught on them or recreational boaters whose motors get tangled with them," Hal Osburn, TPW Director of Coastal Fisheries explained.

Under provisions of SB1410, TPW used volunteers to help pick up abandoned traps only in certain periods of the closure. During the first seven days, only TPW game wardens were allowed to collect abandoned traps. After the first seven days of the closure period, the traps were defined as litter and were eligible to be removed by anyone.

TPW Commission Chairman Katharine Idsal took part in the cleanup at Aransas Pass. The Chairman helped collect traps aboard the division's research vessel, spoke with stakeholders and held an informal news conference in front of a massive pile of crab traps. And at the Seabrook site near Houston, state Rep. Debra Danburg went out on a boat with members of the media. Danburg said it was gratifying for her as a legislator to see direct results of a law she helped pass.

Morris also wanted to thank the nearly 60 organizations that helped out with the project in donations of resources. He also noted that the Coastal Conservation Association, NOAA Restoration Center and other groups provided thousands of dollars to help pay cleanup expenses.

"We are certainly saving a lot of organisms that would have otherwise been wasted," Morris said. "We removed some unsightly debris from the bays of Texas and hopefully we can reduce the frequency of boaters hitting them with their propellers and getting tangled up. Ultimately we should see some resource benefits for the crabbing and shrimping industry by removing these traps."