Seventy out-of-work commercial watermen hauled more than 10,000 derelict crab pots from the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries last winter, the third year of Virginia’s Marine Debris Removal Program.

"Marine debris, if unchecked, has economic impacts beyond the waters in which it exists," said David Kennedy, assistant director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Ocean Service, which oversees the NOAA Marine Debris Division.

During a ceremony at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science boat basin Friday afternoon, Kennedy said that "NOAA is proud to be involved in this ongoing effort to protect our Chesapeake Bay resources."

The Virginia marine debris program is the first in the country, Kennedy said, and combines 21st century technology like side-scan SONAR equipment with the ingenuity and work ethic of Virginia’s commercial watermen. The captain of each commercial vessel used in the program receives $300 per d...