The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans is working with P.E.I. fishermen to prevent the ghost fishing of lobster by lost traps.
The most common way traps are lost is for storm action to break the lines between them and the marker buoys.
DFO has partnered with the province and the P.E.I. Fishermen's Association to find the best way to construct lobster traps so they won't keep fishing when lost.
The $30,000 in funding for the project is coming from Ottawa as part of its new Atlantic sustainability rationalization plan.
Tests are being done on what keeps the trap closed. Many have an iron ring to keep the trap shut. If the trap is lost, the ring should rust in about a month and let the lobster out, but research shows this doesn’t work all the time. One alternative being tested to keep the traps closed is cotton twine.
The study is expected to wrap up by December.
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