Marine Debris Discovery
Dump sites are sadly common. The above site was found by our team and contains more than 100 55gallon drums. The site was mapped with high resolution sidescan sonar then inspected with and ROV equipped with ultrahigh resolution mulitbeam sonar, HD cameras, and USBL positioning.
Dump Sites
55 Gallon Chemical Drums at 200’ deep
More than 40 tire & trash reefs have been identified in the Puget Sound.
Tire & Trash Reefs
Tire Bundles at the Des Moines Fishing Pier
Crab Pots
ROV Multibeam Image of Tires at Des Moines Fishing Pier
Lost crab pots are destroying (killing) up to 25% of the yearly crab population. CSAS actively supports surveying and pinpointing of these pots for removal by divers. In the above image approximately 30 commercial crab pots are entangled and lost. The below image shows work done for the Jefferson County Marine Resources Council to understand the prevalence of lost crab pots in Discovery Bay. More than 100 were found in the entry to the bay alone.
Bundles of entangled commercial crab pots
More than 100 derelict crab pots were identified in a trial pass at the mouth of Discovery Bay Washington. This project has now been funded for clean-up.
Lost fishing nets pose an ongoing hazard to all sea life and continue to fish (kill) indefinitely. Nets can be found on most wrecks, rock outcroppings, and, in the below images, an underwater forest.
Fishing Nets