Abandoned Lobster Pots?
 

Wondering if anyone has any input on what can be/should be done when they come across abandoned lobster traps. I was out at Dana Point yesterday bouncing a ball off the bottom around the red buoy and I ended up snagging 2 abandoned "ghost" traps: 1 hoop net and 1 large commercial trap.

The hoop net I reeled up from the net itself(pretty stoked my knots held to be honest...). Could tell it had been down there a long time. Metal rusting out and lots of growth on the net, ropes and buoys. This one looked like it had been dropped down with the rope tied off about 10' too short and sunk out. Buoy had no markings. Since the buoy was still there and I was just starting the morning, I let all the slack out, retied the buoy and dropped it back down in shallower water so the buoy was actually floating like it should.

The commercial trap was a bitch and a half... Caught the rope on my dropper setup. The end looked like it had been severed by a prop or something, no buoy. Pulled up the slack and, being careful not to flip, slowly inched it up to the surface. Was not sure initially what it was, but on the FF it looked like the whole bottom of the ocean was lifting up. Got some nice blisters on my hands from awkwardly hauling that up with no pulley or gloves. It was in pretty bad condition too and looked like it had been submerged a while. Didn't feel comfortable just throwing it back down, so I wrangled it onto the bow of my Outback and it was somewhat stable. Cut the rope and kept that on the deck so it wouldn't catch anything and flip me if it fell off. Peddled the 2 miles back in with that thing halfway sinking my bow. I brought it to my buddy at the bait barge since he said he knew some people that might be able to salvage it and have the license to legally use it.

So I guess my question is this: What are the rules/regulations/guidelines when you come across these abandoned traps? Not sure if what I did was the right thing to do or not, but in the moment I felt like these were the best options. If these were legit traps with visible buoys that I snagged onto, I'd have just cut my line and left them alone. Any input on this is appreciated. Couldn't find much info anywhere else...

Side note: Fishing wasn't great. Caught as many fish as I did lobster traps: 2 calico all day.

Sounds like you did all the right things.

Almost every time I dive the harbor, I find a hoop or run into someone offering to give me cash to go pull theirs.

I'm not sure on the legality, but if there's no buoy it's definitely abandoned. At the harbor I dive, There are these deep cracks where the pot will fall in like a coin and then flatten out at the bottom making it impossible to pull out with the rope.

I've found them in various states of disrepair.... In one case it was brand new, less than a day old, and still had bait in the cage. I've also pulled viable corroded ones where the net was completely toast, but ultimately not worth it for the time you'd put in to make a net for it and repair what you could have spent 35 bucks on.

Still the season for bugs.