🎣🛥️ 6th Annual Key West Ghost Trap Rodeo – Captains Invitational 🛥️🎣 Ten days in and we’re blown away by the haul —> 2,856 ghost traps (derelict/lost stone crab + lobster traps) cleaned from the Lower Keys fishery! 💪🌊 This massive impact to reduce kills and habitat damage by untended traps wouldn’t be possible without our friends @vainstituteofmarinescience , The Grassy Creek Foundation, @reefrelief , tireless local captains, dedicated volunteers, and amazing sponsors like @mercurymarine and @power.pole. THANK YOU for showing up and making waves for a cleaner, healthier ocean. 💙🐠 We’ve got 4 more days on the water, so stay tuned for the final count and winners next week. Let’s finish strong! ⚓🌎 #GhostTrapRodeo #KeyWestCleanup #ReefRelief #OceanConservation #LowerKeys #MarineDebris #TrapFreeSeas #CommunityPower #CleanOceans #EcoWarriors (fb)

“Doing good things always hits different.” – Capt. JJ The 6th Annual OA360 Ghost Trap Rodeo Captains Invitational is officially underway!🦀 🦞 In just 12 HOURS, commercial fishermen in the Lower Florida Keys have already hauled in 822 ghost traps — gear that is abandoned or lost to a storm and that continues to catch and kill marine life during the closed season. That’s nearly 50,000 pounds of plastic and concrete pollution now removed… and we’ve still got 11 more work days to go. As of today, and since 2021, with the help of local captains we’ve collected 4,173 derelict crab and lobster traps from the Lower Florida Keys..and we’re not done yet! These traps aren’t just general marine debris. They’re “high-priority” because they damage coral, tear up seagrass, and keep on killing stone crabs, lobsters, groupers, snappers, sharks, and more — all without feeding a single person. Removing them means cleaner water, a healthier habitat, and enhanced catches for hard working folks fishing responsibly. This is OA360’s 6th Ghost Trap Rodeo in the Keys — and part of our mission to remove 1 MILLION pounds of marine debris from critical U.S. waters in the next year. Powered by NOAA Marine Debris Program funding to the National TRAP Program housed at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, this effort is all about cost efficiency, marine habitat enhancement, and U.S. economic resilience. We’re grateful for all of the support from the Grassy Creek Foundation, local commercial fishermen and the hardworking volunteer data collectors making this cleanup count. 👏 Let’s keep moppin’ em up! #KWGTR2025 #FollowMeToPoundTown (fb)