ADFG Announces Hoonah Sound Shrimp Fisheries Remain Closed

The following is courtesy of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game:

Subsistence and sport shrimp fisheries in the Hoonah Sound portion of District 13 (Section 13-C) will be closed north and west of a line from 57°35.07? N. lat., 135°33.57? W. long. to 57°37.89? N. lat., 135°28.65? W. long., from 12:01 a.m. Saturday, January 1 through 11:59 p.m. Saturday, December 31, 2022 (Figure 1).

The District 13 spot shrimp survey has been conducted annually from 1999 through 2014 and from 2017 through 2021. From 1999 – 2014 the shrimp population in Hoonah Sound was considered healthy and relatively stable based on survey data and commercial fishing harvests. Beginning in 2015, commercial harvest data indicated declining stock health. Hoonah Sound spot shrimp surveys from 2017 – 2021 have indicated poor population health. Survey catch rates of both small and large size-class shrimp declined from 2017 to 2019 with the 2019 catch rates being among the lowest for each size-class in the history of the survey. In 2020, the catch rate of small-size class shrimp increased but was still below the long-term average and the catch rate of large class shrimp saw marked improvement. Size information collected from the most recent survey in 2021 continues to suggest that younger generations of shrimp continue to have very poor survival. While the catch rates for large class shrimp increased again in 2021, the catch rate of small class shrimp declined sharply to the lowest level observed in the history of the survey.

The subsistence and sport shrimp fisheries have been closed in Hoonah Sound since March of 2020. The Section 13-C commercial pot shrimp fishery was closed for the 2021/22 season and will remain closed through the 2022/23 season. The continued closures of shrimp fisheries in the Hoonah Sound portion of District 13 are warranted to protect the younger age classes and the older female spot shrimp to aid in the recovery of the stock.

View our Advisory Announcements page.