The "ghost pot" program at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, a partnership with local watermen, received national attention in a May 21 news program.

NBC’s "Nightly News" program included a three-minute segment about the program, said David Malmquist, director of communications at VIMS.

The ghost pot program pays watermen to use side-imaging sonar units to detect and retrieve lost or abandoned crab pots and other marine debris that litter the floor of the Chesapeake Bay, Malmquist said. The derelict pots can continue to capture and kill animals for several years depending on salinity and wave climate, a VIMS report said.

The program is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration through the Virginia Marine Resources Commission and administered by VIMS.

Featured in the ghost pot segment were Dr. Kirk Havens of VIMS, Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources Doug Domenech, and local watermen E.C. Hogge and Richard Green.

Malmq...