Bob,
I should have been a little clearer but have gotten into the habit of being a too brief as of late. I obviously do not condone the pulling of traps. I will stand by what I said earlier though. It is a waste of resources and dangerous to wildlife when dozens of line and hooks are hanging dangerously off of your cables and traps. I do not think the traps themselves are the culprits as much as the lines. Often, the trap is just tossed back in with no concern for even a shady attempt at keeping the line on the bottom. I have watched this behavior only increase over the last few years while the number of yahoo fishermen at some of the most heavily trafficked areas has DECREASED. I have had one bad night (for about 20 minutes) with a group of uncaring fishermen that were quickly out of there anyway. Now, to explain that further, several of the guys that used to come down and tangle everyone have now learned/been taught/told how to fish the spots during crowded times properly. Most
nights, it is a joy. However, the traps are a consistent problem and pose a real danger to surrounding wildlife. I like the guy that does the pots around my neck of the woods. I just wish he would spend the extra 5 minutes per pot to make sure that there are no major kinks in the line to catch hooks and other tackle. You called many of our fellow fisherman "yahoos". I'll say the same of the inconsiderate lobsterman that leaves their cables exposed, or as Larry and others have stated, leave their pots in navigation channels. As someone here correctly stated, we have our individual freedoms to a point. However, when the line is crossed in that the greater good of one exceeds that of the general public we have a problem.
Perhaps you can work on your fellow lobsterman and I will do the same for the yahoos?