In 2017 San Antonio Bay Partnership (SABP) began participating Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Abandoned Crab Trap Removal Program to help clean the bays of abandoned crab traps. Now, each February during the crabbing closure period, SABP organizes volunteers, affectionately referred to as Bay R.A.T.s to Remove Awful Traps in and around Espiritu Santo and San Antonio Bays. We also work with partnering organizations to clean up surrounding bay systems including:
Mission Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve
With the help of donations and a grant from the Matagorda Bay Mitigation Trust, SABP provides supplies, training and an after party. Our boat volunteers are assigned to cover specific areas and use a phone app to document the location of the traps they remove. Trap owner information and entrapped critters are recorded. Analysis of this data has helped to inform us about the reasons for trap dereliction and develop solutions to this complex issue.
2026 Abandoned Crab Trap Removal Program Results
Read the complete 2026 Program Results
SABP’s Abandoned Crab Trap Removal efforts are supported by a grant from
SABP Crab Trap Plan & Procedures