My wife got a couple of free fishing buoys (that she wants to use for decorations on the house) from a neighbour; one red and white for crabbing, and the other one pink. For some reason, I can’t find what the pink buoy is for. Anyone know?
It might not mean anything, other than being a distinctive bright color that the previous operator could easily spot and recognize at a distance.
In Washington I might guess that it may be salmon related. But this is not a factual answer.
I know that crab buoys must be red-and-white, and shrimp buoys must be yellow.
Does it look anything like this?
That is what I thought about on reading the OP. I live in South Africa, near the coast, and often see them, even in fairly remote areas.
I doubt it has caught on internationally yet, and I have seen fishing buoys in neon pink here, in the regular spherical shape.
I would guess that neon pink is an easy colour to identify against sea water.
FWIW anecdotally I buy balls for my dogs that are red, pink or yellow - not for their benefit; they are red/green colour blind - but for mine. I walk them on beaches and durable balls that float are expensive.
Our dog Kizzy loves her JollyBall which was originally a horse toy.
It is extremely rugged, yet Kizzy has managed to destroy hers. They’re not cheap ($40 at our feedstore) but for a less aggressive chewer they are ideal.
I apologise to the OP for the slight hijack, but USD40 is ZAR674, the cost of, say 16 craft beers, or half a tank of diesel, or 22 Big Macs.
For a toy that is still likely to get lost in the surf that is quite a bit!
/hijack
Still, a small price for Jolly.
No, it’s the same size and shape as a crab buoy; like this:
I’ll see if I can get a picture of the actual buoy later.
I used to crab just off shore from Port Hadlock, WA. Recreational crabbers used a variety of colors and designs to distinguish their buoys from others.
Per the Washington Dept of Fish & Wildlife [emphasis mine]:
All crab gear buoys must be half red and half white in color, and both colors need to be visible when fishing…
All shrimp pot buoys must be yellow in color.
A healthy respect for regulations and literacy isn’t really part of the Port Hadlock ethos.
Here’s a picture of the buoy.
My wife hung it on the wall of the house, between two glass floats. I wasn’t going to say anything, but she took the buoy down this morning because she realised what it looked like. 
Are you sure that it is an actual buoy and not a buoy-shaped fender? (There are pink fenders and they tend to be close to that color.)
I’ve never seen a fender shaped like a buoy. I’ve only seen these:
and
Not Washington State, but North Carolina specifies pink buoys for crab pots used by recreational fishermen:
Marking Requirements – One solid hot pink buoy on each pot
I have seen them at Bass Pro Shops.