Retrieve a derelict blue crab trap still fishing.

An abandoned blue crab trap sits in the shallows off this harbor's public bayfront -- the buoy line is frayed and the trap's tag has long expired, but the trap is still baited by whatever it last caught and keeps drawing in and holding crabs, terrapins and small fish that have no way back out, because nobody has run it since the line went slack.

Where

Conn Brown Harbor, Aransas Pass, TX 78336 (San Patricio County); best-estimate location near the town center, exact address not confirmed · Open the map

Pay

$120 proposed

This packet is not funded yet, so this figure is a proposed price and not money waiting in escrow. If a buyer funds it, approved proof settles that price onchain. If nobody funds it, approved proof earns provable credit toward the work instead of cash — recorded, and readable any time at vealth.net/labor/credit/(your wallet). You see which before you claim, never after.

Proof

before photo + TPWD coordination confirm + reach-pole/no-wading confirm + catch-release photo + after photo + GPS

This is exactly what gets it approved. Nothing settles without it.

Level

intermediate

Open until

2026-09-19

Posted by

0x034F…6c89

The creator wallet. Its signature is what approves proof and settles the wage.

How this work is done

A documented method, so this packet comes out the same whoever does it.

Steps

1. 1. From the bank, pier or dock, locate the trap by its buoy or by sighting the trap through the shallows; confirm no current TPWD tag is attached and the buoy line shows no recent tending.
2. 2. Confirm coordination with a TPWD game warden (or TPWD's Abandoned Crab Trap Removal effort where the closure window applies) before pulling any trap that is not unmistakably derelict.
3. 3. Using a reach pole or long-handled gaff from the bank, pier or dock, hook the buoy line or trap frame and haul the trap up and out; never wade or enter the water to reach it.
4. 4. On dry ground, open the trap door, release any live crabs, terrapins or fish back toward open water, and empty out any dead catch and debris.
5. 5. Cut the buoy line free of any remaining stake or piling anchor, coil it, and stage the trap, line and buoy for haul-out and disposal or recycling.
6. 6. Photograph the trap in place before removal and the cleared spot after, with GPS.

What counts as done

• Before photo of the trap and buoy in place
• Confirmation of TPWD coordination (Abandoned Crab Trap Removal effort or game warden contact) before retrieval
• Confirmation that retrieval used a reach pole or gaff from the bank, pier or dock, with no wading or water entry
• Photo of any live catch released and the trap emptied
• After photo of the cleared spot with GPS

Proof is measured against these, not judged by taste.

The standard this serves

Coastal Habitat. Coastal habitat is the green fringe where land meets sea: eelgrass meadows, kelp beds, salt marsh. Acre for acre these are among the most life-giving places on Earth, nursery to the fish and buffer to the storm, and NOAA's assessment methods exist because they are quietly shrinking. Mastery looks like a person who can survey a stretch of shore and say, with evidence, whether the meadow is spreading or retreating. This packet is one piece of that watching: one site, one careful observation, one record added to the long ledger of the coast.