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Census of Marine Life, Census of Coral Reefs Expedition to French Frigate Shoals (October 2006)

Baited Epifauna Traps

Lead Scientist: Scott Godwin/Rusty Brainard
Target Habitats: Lagoonal sands
Target Organisms: Mobile epifauna

Description:
Three strings with eight lobster-type traps (standard commercial style Fathoms Plus polyethylene plastic traps), as well as 5 single traps, will be baited (following official standards for frozen bait) and soaked overnight at a depth of 30-300 meters. Each trap on the string will be separated by groundline, and the first trap in each string will be connected to a floatline with an inflatable buoy and a hard buoy attached. The single traps, being deployed at the shallower depths will be hand-placed by divers. All traps will have encapsulated lead inside to weight them down. A minnow trap will be placed in each trap for the purpose of capturing organisms smaller than the mesh of the trap, such as crabs, shrimp and snails. The traps will be placed in sandy areas located by means of bathymetric, backscatter, and video data. To prevent non-target organisms such as the lobsters Panulirus marginatus and Panulirus penicillatus from entering the traps, we will attach tie wraps or the equivalent across the openings of the traps, making the openings smaller. Should non target organisms such as the Triton’s Trumpet Charonia tritonis or Horned Helmet Shell Cassis cornuta be found in the traps, they will be culled from the traps immediately after retrieval and released. Prior to field deployment, the traps will be soaked, cleaned, disinfected.

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