In 2017, three ferries with the Washington State Ferry system were disabled due to crab pots in Puget Sound.
So this year, WSF is warning crab pot owners not to put their equipment in the line of ferry vessel traffic.
"This is a weighted crab pot line. It's leaded line so it will sink when you drop the crab pot in the water. If a crab pot is dropped in the ferry lane, this is what will get tangled around the prop and cause an issue," said WDFW Officer Natalie Hale.
When a ferry is damaged by a crab pot, dry docking alone costs $100,000. That does not include repairs.
"If you add up the cost to the people, the loss of service to the community, the damage is huge. All over one crab pot. It can be that simple," said WSF Ferry Captain Tim Koivu.
Friends and fellow 90-year olds, Tom McKay and Dan Walther, were aboard the Edmonds ferry Thursday morning as members of local media boarded to learn more about crab pot issues. Their wives said, "We know two crabs who would love to talk to you about it."
"I didn't realize they had to be that careful with crab pots," McKay said.
Walther, a longtime crabber, was aware of the issue.
"We had to maneuver around those crab pots, try not to get all tangled up in those things because they'd put those crab pots right there where the boat goes," Walther added.
WDFW wants to remind crabbers that no crabbing is allowed on July 4th this year, as it was last year, because crabbing is always closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Marine Area 11 is also closed this summer season.
