Patent ID: 6880290

Claim:
A fishing gear recovery device for recovery of fishing gear lost due to separation from an associated surface buoy, comprising: a) a free-loading recovery line housing produced from tubing stock for containing recovery line when the fishing gear recovery device is not deployed, the recovery line housing having a first unsealed end for loading and deploying the recovery line; b) attachment points in the recovery line housing for: i) a recovery line; and ii) a plurality of biodegradable connectors which, are replaceable on a rotating basis, one or more of the connectors being positioned to crimp the first unsealed end of the recovery line housing to prevent recovery line release when the recovery device is in a non-deployed state; and c) a buoyancy providing element positioned within the recovery line housing; wherein said biodegradable connectors do not degrade rapidly under conditions of use, but degrade over a period of at least days.