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On Saturday, April 19th, twenty-three volunteers with Santa Barbara Channelkeeper and members of the commercial fishing community worked together to remove approximately thirty lobster traps that had washed ashore in two locations: between Mesa Lane and Shoreline Park and between Goleta Beach and Blackrock Beach.
This is the fifth year of shoreline cleanup collaborations for Santa Barbara Channelkeeper and the Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara.
During the lobster season, wave action and stormy weather can dislodge traps set by fishermen and send them adrift. When lost traps such as these are carried by currents, they can entangle marine organisms and pose safety hazards to vessels. When they wash up on shore as debris, they can also be hazardous to beachgoers and wildlife.
Every fishing season approximately 6,500 traps are reported lost off the California coast, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Without regular cleanups, dozens of traps can accumulate on certain beaches and pile up over time. This year, the Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara have been working throughout the season to remove traps.
In recent months, volunteers with Channelkeeper’s Watershed Brigade community cleanup program helped geolocate onshore traps. Through this community effort, Channelkeeper discovered a high concentration of traps that had accumulated between Mesa Lane and Shoreline Park. As the 2025 lobster season approached its end date in March, Channelkeeper staff and local fishermen began planning to clear traps from this stretch of beach.
During Saturday’s cleanup, volunteers pulled the heavy, metal-framed traps from the rocks along the shore and carried them to collection points on the beach. The traps were loaded onto a kayak and hauled through the surf to the F/V Bella B, owned by fisherman Chris Voss, and transported to the Santa Barbara Harbor for proper disposal.
In addition to the lobster traps, the team cleared metal rebar, rope, trash, and construction materials from the beach.
The group noticed that there were fewer traps onshore than in years past, thanks to the ongoing efforts of fishermen to recover lost traps and community cleanup events such as this one.
“Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara is grateful to have partnered with Santa Barbara Channelkeeper’s Watershed Brigade on another successful beach cleanup this past weekend. Traps are extremely labor-intensive and costly to build; therefore, no fisherman wants to lose their gear. However, with our recent swell events, losing gear is often inevitable, and it’s our job as fishing community representatives to approach the issue of abandoned gear with a fleet mentality perspective that aims to restore our beaches to their pristine conditions, regardless of whose traps they are. We execute a considerable amount of cleanup efforts annually but always especially look forward to this partnered event with Channelkeeper and their awesome volunteers!”
“This cleanup was a great success. We’re happy to partner with local fishermen to remove the traps that washed ashore,” said Channelkeeper’s Program Assistant Veronica Moran. “We also appreciate the outstanding volunteer effort. By working together, we were able to remove fishing gear that could have remained on the beach for years.”
