St Johns County blue crab traps reopen

Historic City News has learned that the efforts of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to identify and retrieve lost and abandoned blue crab traps from St Johns County waterways will be complete by Sunday; allowing fishermen to return their recreational and commercial blue crab traps.

The 10-day closure affecting Nassau through Volusia county waters, started August 20 and was set to end August 29 — but it will reopen four days earlier than scheduled, beginning Sunday, August 26.

Lost and abandoned blue crab traps are a problem in the blue crab fishery because, when left in the water, they can continue to trap crabs and fish. They can also be unsightly in the marine environment, damage sensitive habitats and pose navigational hazards to boaters on the water.

There are six regularly scheduled regional closures in total: three occurring in even-numbered years on the east coast and three in odd-numbered years on the west coast.