Volunteer Turnout High for Crab Trap Cleanup

Some things weren’t ideal for the Christmas Bay Crab Trap Clean-up event Saturday. Low tides made organizers move the launch point and a few boats weren’t able to come for various reasons.

Other things went very well, however. They had a high turnout of volunteers for the event, which launched boats in San Luis Pass to find and remove abandoned traps left by irresponsible parties that could still catch and kill wildlife.

“We had a great turnout. It was our largest turnout ever,” Christmas Bay Foundation Founder Jim Olive said. “We had about 16 Aggie students who showed up, who were students of our president, Bruce Bodson, who teaches at A&M in environmental policy and things like that. They all had a great time.”

A few dozen other volunteers showed up and were split up onto the airboats. The crews ended up pulling 11 traps from the bay, well below the usual 40 to 50 and a sign their efforts are paying off, Olive said.

“I know that doesn’t sound like many, but for us that’s great because it means that our yearly clean-up is working. The first time we did it, we filled up a 40-foot dumpster,” Olive said. “This year, it’s the lowest number we’ve ever done.”