NH Coastal Lobster Trap Cleanup Scheduled for Saturday, April 18

Contact:
Renee Zobel: (603) 868-1095
Riplee Mercer: (603) 868-1095
March 23, 2025

Durham, NH – If you are out enjoying the ocean views of Route 1A on Saturday, April 18, you may see more activity than usual. The Granite State’s commercial fishing community and volunteers will be busy that day collecting lobster traps and other fishing gear that winter storms have washed up onto the shore.

The cleanup event will begin at 8:00 a.m. on April 18 in both Rye Harbor and the Hampton Harbor State Marinas. Individuals with a lobster trap license or commercial saltwater license are invited to participate in this year’s derelict trap cleanup efforts. An inclement weather date of April 19 has been set. If necessary, by the end of day Thursday, April 16, the decision to move the event to the inclement weather date will be posted on our website wildnh.com (under the Newsroom Home tab).

You must sign in with NH Fish and Game Department staff at either cleanup location to officially record your participation, which will waive the derelict gear surcharge associated with your 2027 lobster or commercial saltwater license. If you do not sign in with NH Fish and Game, we will not have an official record of your participation, and the derelict gear surcharge will not be waived.

This annual endeavor is a collaboration among the New Hampshire Commercial Fishermen’s Association, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, the New Hampshire Division of Ports and Harbors, the Hampton Public Works Department, Bauer Construction, and the Yankee Fisherman’s Cooperative.

2026 marks 32 years that volunteers and the commercial fishing community have aligned in support of a coastal trap cleanup. During the last cleanup event, 100 commercial and recreational harvesters, their families, and volunteers helped to remove 4.55 tons of lobster traps and fishing gear from the shoreline.

The public is reminded that lobster pots and traps are private property. State law prohibits anyone except for the gear owner or a NH Fish and Game Conservation Officer from possessing or moving them. To learn more about lobster harvesting, contact the NH Fish and Game Marine Division at 603-868-1095 or Reg3@wildlife.nh.gov.