A handheld crabtrap for catching crabs includes a shaft having a handle with a lever on a proximal end, a trap head with a lid at a distal end of the shaft, and a linkage within the shaft attached to the lever and the trap head. The handle further includes a crab alert bell attached to a cable that also extends to and into the trap head, where it ends in a clip to which the crabber's bait is attached. The trap head is held open via the linkage and lever until a crab pulls on the bait ringing the bell and alerting a crabber to pull on the lever and close the trap head via a string therebetween.

A handheld crabtrap for catching crabs includes a shaft having a handle with a lever on a proximal end, a trap head with a lid at a distal end of the shaft, and a linkage within the shaft attached to the lever and the trap head. The handle further includes a crab alert bell attached to a cable that also extends to and into the trap head, where it ends in a clip to which the crabber's bait is attached. The trap head is held open via the linkage and lever until a crab pulls on the bait ringing the bell and alerting a crabber to pull on the lever and close the trap head via a string therebetween.

A method of harvesting crustaceans that utilizes a trap and buoy system, each trap being equipped with a digital camera and a light flash mechanism and being electrically connected to a buoy which has a wireless broadcast system to forward images received from the camera wirelessly to a further location that is equipped to receive the wirelessly transmitted image and to display the image to a human user. The method begins with laying out traps in the ocean, in a grid having a first grid spacing. Then for each trap, repeatedly lighting the trap with the flash mechanism and forming an image with the digital camera and sending the image to the further location. Then monitoring the images. Finally, in reliance on the images deciding to begin laying out traps in a grid, having a second grid spacing that is tighter than the first grid spacing, around a particular trap.

A method of harvesting crustaceans that utilizes a trap and buoy system, each trap being equipped with a digital camera and a light flash mechanism and being electrically connected to a buoy which has a wireless broadcast system to forward images received from the camera wirelessly to a further location that is equipped to receive the wirelessly transmitted image and to display the image to a human user. The method begins with laying out traps in the ocean, in a grid having a first grid spacing. Then for each trap, repeatedly lighting the trap with the flash mechanism and forming an image with the digital camera and sending the image to the further location. Then monitoring the images. Finally, in reliance on the images deciding to begin laying out traps in a grid, having a second grid spacing that is tighter than the first grid spacing, around a particular trap.

A container can dispense variable amounts of bait, for example, through holes in complementary sleeves. Different configurations can result in different hole sizes and different overlap in attachable sleeves. These differences can allow fishermen flexibility to better control the dispensing of bait and/or chum by varying the size of the openings.

A container can dispense variable amounts of bait, for example, through holes in complementary sleeves. Different configurations can result in different hole sizes and different overlap in attachable sleeves. These differences can allow fishermen flexibility to better control the dispensing of bait and/or chum by varying the size of the openings.

The present invention relates to a harvesting system (11, 12, 13, 14, 24, 28) for harvesting zooplankton or mesopelagic fishes, said system comprising: an underwater device (1, 4, 7, 16, 23, 29) for being lowered and towed into the sea, said underwater device comprising a housing provided with one or more inlets (30) adapted to receive a zooplankton or mesopelagic fishes-containing fluid, wherein said housing comprises one or more manifolds (2); said underwater device further comprising one or more sources of light (26, 27) facilitating schooling of zooplankton towards an illuminated area; a fluidic connection (21) fluidically connecting said underwater device to a surface vessel; wherein said one or more inlets are inlets to said one or more manifolds and said one or more manifolds converge into said fluidic connection, wherein said one or more sources of light are located within said one or more inlets.

The present invention relates to a harvesting system (11, 12, 13, 14, 24, 28) for harvesting zooplankton or mesopelagic fishes, said system comprising: an underwater device (1, 4, 7, 16, 23, 29) for being lowered and towed into the sea, said underwater device comprising a housing provided with one or more inlets (30) adapted to receive a zooplankton or mesopelagic fishes-containing fluid, wherein said housing comprises one or more manifolds (2); said underwater device further comprising one or more sources of light (26, 27) facilitating schooling of zooplankton towards an illuminated area; a fluidic connection (21) fluidically connecting said underwater device to a surface vessel; wherein said one or more inlets are inlets to said one or more manifolds and said one or more manifolds converge into said fluidic connection, wherein said one or more sources of light are located within said one or more inlets.

A crawfish trap bait guard which, in use, is mounted upon the staking rod of a crawfish trap, inside the mesh of the crawfish trap, above the floor of the trap, and below the water line. The crawfish trap bait guard encloses the bait in such a way as to prevent the access of birds and fish to the bait, while allowing crawfish within the trap to obtain managed portions of the bait by reaching through calibrated open areas distributed around the crawfish trap bait guard so as to allow a large number of crawfish to feed at the same time.

In one aspect, a trap for capturing a marine animal, e.g., a lobster, is disclosed, which includes a housing having an inlet port for receiving a marine animal, said inlet port being configured to prevent the marine animal from leaving the container, and a sensor coupled to the housing for detecting the presence of the marine animal in the housing. In some embodiments, a stretchable netting is coupled to the inlet port such that the marine animal passes through the netting before entering the housing via the inlet port. A stretch detector can be coupled to the netting to register the passage of a marine animal via the netting into the housing. The passage of a marine animal through the netting can result in a stretch of the netting, which is registered by the stretch signal. The stretch signal indicates the passage of the marine animal into the housing.