Prince William Sound Sport, Subsistence Shrimp Season Won’t Be Announced Until March Board Of Fisheries Meeting

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

Prince William Sound Noncommercial Shrimp Fishery Announcement

(Anchorage) –The Prince William Sound (PWS) noncommercial (sport and subsistence) shrimp pot fishery pot and season limits will be released after the conclusion of the Alaska Board of Fisheries meeting taking place March 11–16 in Anchorage. Due to multiple proposals submitted to the board of fisheries and a low guideline harvest level (GHL) allocation for the noncommercial fisheries for 2025, final management decisions such as pot and season limits will need to be set after the meetings conclusion.

The department conducts an annual fishery-independent shrimp pot survey in PWS. Survey results, along with harvest from the commercial and noncommercial fisheries, are used in a model to determine the annual total allowable harvest (TAH) of shrimp. Survey results indicate that the abundance of spot shrimp in PWS has been decreasing since 2020. This trend is apparent throughout PWS, although there was a slight increase in spot shrimp catch per unit effort in some areas during the October 2024 survey. The cumulative effect of multiple years of declining shrimp abundance has resulted in a lower TAH. The GHL for the noncommercial fishery is 60% of the TAH, while the remaining 40% of the TAH is allocated to the commercial fishery. The TAH must exceed 110,000 pounds for a commercial fishery to be opened and at this time, the 2025 TAH is estimated below the 110,000 pound threshold and the Division of Commercial fisheries has announced that a commercial fishery will not be opening for the 2025 season. In addition to a pot limit reduction, the department anticipates implementing a seasonal restriction with possibly a later season opening date and/or earlier closure in 2025 noncommercial shrimp pot fishery.

The PWS noncommercial shrimp permits will be available online after April 1.

The public may submit comments to the board by February 25, 2025 or attend the Statewide Shellfish meeting in person from March 11–16. Information on the Alaska Board of Fisheries meeting can be found online.

For more information, please contact Sport Fish Area Management Biologist Brittany Blain-Roth at 907-267-2186 or Assistant Area Management Biologist Donald Arthur at 907-267-2225. For additional information about the PWS subsistence and commercial shrimp pot fisheries, please contact Area Management Biologist Martin Schuster in Homer at (907) 235-8191.