GGGI Small Grant (2021) - Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation (USA)
Project Summary
In June 2021, the Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation, based in Kennebunk, Maine, Monterey Bay Diving, based in Monterey Bay, California, and commercial fisher and diver Jim Buxton, based in Portland, Maine, completed a cross-country collaboration to use side-scan sonar to attempt to identify ALDFG in Casco Bay, Maine. The team spent three full days in June 2021 using Monterey Bay Diving’s Edge Tech 4125 side-scan sonar unit to scan an area of approximately 20 square miles where there could be potential large masses of fishing gear.
In 2019, with the help of side-scan sonar, the same team had found and removed a 20,000 pound ball of gear, which was the largest single recovery on a GGGI project to date. The goal during the 2021 project was similar: to use the side-scan sonar to identify locations where gear was present and mark those locations for future recovery efforts. Whenever a possible ALDFG site was visualized on the sonar, Buxton dove into the water to visually confirm what was on the ocean bottom. A significant area of Casco Bay was covered with the side-scan sonar surveys, however this time the team was not able to locate another large mass of tangled gear. The team identified many locations that have lost lobster traps, steel cable, and tires and while they were not the targets the team was looking for, it is valuable information to use for future targeted recovery efforts.
