Juneau Area Shrimp Fishery To Remain Closed

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

(Juneau) – The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced today that the sport and personal use (PU) shrimp pot fisheries in the Juneau area will remain closed until further notice. The closed area consists of all marine waters of Section 11-A (see attached map) north and west of a line extending from a regulatory marker near Point Bishop at 58^o 12.32? N. lat., 134^o 10.14? W long., to the Coast Guard marker and light on Point Arden at 58^o 09.55? N. lat., 134^o10.68? W. long., south of the latitude of Little Island Light at 58 ^o 32.41? N. lat., and east of a line from Little Island Light to Point Retreat Light.

Due to declining commercial fishery catch per unit of effort (CPUE) indicating low spot shrimp abundance in Section 11-A, the commercial, sport, and personal use fisheries were closed July 1, 2013, to allow the shrimp population in this area to rebuild. Creel census data from 2003 – 2007 indicated that the PU/sport fishery harvests were approximately equal to commercial harvests during this time. Therefore, closure of all shrimp pot fisheries that harvest spot shrimp in this area are necessary to rebuild the population.

The intention of these closures is to allow spot shrimp abundance to rebound to a sustainable level. The department will continue to monitor the Section 11-A shrimp resource. The personal use and sport shrimp pot fisheries will remain closed until data indicates spot shrimp abundance can again sustain harvests.

The department has conducted surveys of the area in the 2017/2018, 2018/2019, 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 seasons to gather data on spot shrimp abundance, and there is currently no harvestable surplus available.