  Let $A\neq 0$ be a complex number with $ |A|\neq 1$. Let $M$ be a compact
smooth oriented $3$-manifold, the $SU(3)$-skein space of $M$, $S_A(M)$, is the
vector space over $\mathbb{C}$ generated by framed oriented links (including
framed oriented trivalent graphs in $M$) quotient by the $SU(3)$-skein
relations due to Kuperberg. For a closed, orientable surface $F$, we construct
a local diffeomorphism invariant trace on $S_A(F\times I)$.
