Commercial crab trap fishing causes welfare concerns for both target crabs and bycatch species. Ghost gear - lost traps - compounds welfare problems long after fishing ends.
Commercial crab trap fishing creates welfare challenges at multiple points. Crabs trapped for extended periods before hauling experience confinement in overcrowded conditions with limited food and water circulation. Conspecific aggression in overcrowded traps causes injuries. The bycatch of non-target species including juvenile crabs, fish, and other invertebrates creates additional welfare harm. Ghost trap mortality - traps lost at sea that continue fishing without ever being hauled - is a particularly insidious welfare problem because these traps continue catching and trapping animals indefinitely. Innovations including biodegradable escape panels that dissolve over time and allow ghost trap escape represent meaningful welfare improvements. Live holding before sale creates additional welfare concerns depending on holding conditions and duration.