3. Results and discussion
3.1. The scope of the DFT problem: Number, distribution, persistence
The average number of DFT km−2 varied in each region and ranged from 5 to 47 DFT km−2 with the highest density in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay study (Table 2). These averages do not always show the variability by habitat type or fishing intensity that was sometimes found in the field. In Florida, for example, different habitat types were surveyed and macroalgae had the lowest density of trap debris; conversely, coral reef habitats had the highest density despite fishermen’s efforts to avoid coral reefs when fishing (Uhrin et al., 2014). In the Maryland main stem of the Chesapeake Bay, variability ranged from 28 to 75 DFT km−2. In North Carolina, trap densities ranged from 3 to 65 DFT km−2 though in this study densities did not vary by habitat type (Voss et al., 2012).