On Saturday, volunteers with Santa Barbara Channelkeeper and members of the commercial fishing community worked together to remove about 30 lobster traps that had washed ashore in Santa Barbara.
Community members volunteered their efforts in two locations: between Mesa Lane and Shoreline Park and between Goleta Beach and Blackrock Beach.
This is the fifth year of shoreline cleanup collaborations for Santa Barbara Channelkeeper and the Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara, according to organizers.
During the lobster season, officials say wave action and stormy weather can dislodge traps set by fishermen and send them adrift.
Lost traps such as these can reportedly be carried by currents, entangle marine organisms, and pose safety hazards to vessels.
When they wash up on shore as debris, they can also be hazardous to beach-goers and wildlife.
Approximately 6,500 traps are reported lost off the California coast each fishing season, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
In recent months, officials say volunteers with Channelkeeper’s Watershed Brigade Community Cleanup Program helped geolocate a concentration of onshore traps on several Santa Barbara beaches.
Saturday’s cleanup saw volunteers pull dozens of the heavy, metal-framed traps from the rocks along those beaches.
The traps were loaded onto a kayak and hauled through the surf to the Bella B, owned by fisherman Chris Voss.
In addition to the lobster traps, officials say the team cleared metal rebar, rope, trash, and construction materials from the beach.
“This cleanup was a great success. We’re happy to partner with local fishermen to remove the traps that washed ashore,” said Channelkeeper’s program assistant Veronica Moran in a press release. “We also appreciate the outstanding volunteer effort. Some traps are buried in the sand, and it takes a lot of effort to dig them out. By working together, we were able to remove thirty traps that could have remained on the beach for years.”
