The Spot Prawn Fishery: A Status Report - Earth Economics

The Spot Prawn Fishery: A Status Report
in fishing techniques and technology can continue
to ensure good catch rates even if stock abundance
is, in fact, decreasing. In order to achieve sustainable
spot prawn management, ADFG’s goals are
to avoid basing the fishery on single-year or size
classes, and to manage on a sustained-yield basis
(Love, ADFG. Pers. comm., May 2001).
The Shrimp Trawl Fishery
The Alaskan trawl shrimp fishery began in southeastern
Alaska, near Petersburg, in 1915. The fishery
was an otter 7 and beam 8 trawl fishery whose
primary target was pink shrimp. The beam trawl
fleet also targeted sidestriped shrimp (Pandalopsis
dispar), and this fishery continues today. The
southeastern Alaska shrimp trawl fishery does
not target spot prawns; spot prawns are caught
only incidentally as bycatch. Southeastern Alaska
was closed to otter trawling by a May 1998 Board
of Fisheries decision driven primarily by conservation
concerns.
Nature of the Fishery Today
The Spot Prawn Pot Fishery
Southeastern Alaska’s spot prawn fishery is the
last significant shrimp pot fishery in the state
(Love, ADFG. Pers. comm., February 2001).
Although stocks may be recovering in other
areas, such as the Prince William Sound fishery,
these areas are still closed to spot prawn fishing.
Southeastern Alaska’s fishery is primarily a smallboat
fishery that includes gillnetters, trollers, and
limit seiners. Baited pots are longlined or fished
as single pots. Catcher-processors also are participating
in the fishery in growing numbers. The
timely collection of harvest data is complicated
due to the fact that catcher-processors remain
on the fishing grounds until their holds are full.
A limited-entry program characterizes the spot
prawn fishery today. Guideline Harvest Levels
continue to be set for each fishing district. ADFG’s
emergency order process is used to close fishing
districts when the GHLs are approached. If a district(s)
is closed prematurely, additional emergency
orders are issued and the district(s) is reopened
to fishing until the full GHL is harvested.
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7 An otter trawl is defined by Alaska Commercial Fishing Regulations
(2000–2002) as “a trawl with a net opening controlled by devices commonly
called otter doors” (p. 28). A trawl is a “bag-shaped net towed
through the water to capture fish or shellfish” (p. 28).
8 A beam trawl is defined by Alaska Commercial Fishing Regulations
(2000–2002) as “a trawl with a fixed net opening utilizing a wood or
metal beam” (p. 28).
Spot prawn pounds per delivery and pounds
caught per permit are increasing, as are the number
of permits actively fished. Based on analysis
of survey data, a 2.0 tail-weight conversion was
recently adopted in the fishery. The purpose of
the conversion factor was to more accurately
reflect the total spot prawn biomass removed
by commercial fishing. Approximately half the
total weight of a spot prawn is its head; the other
half is its tail. Application of the conversion factor
increased GHLs in nearly all the fishing districts.
Increased GHLs have not translated into a slower
rate of harvest. This is largely due to continued
growth in fishing effort and efficiency, and an
increase in the number of previously unfished
permits being fished. Last season’s GHLs were
caught in less than a month in most of the 16
fishing areas, and in one week or less in certain
districts (Love, ADFG. Pers. comm., February
2001). In the face of decreasing season length,
management information must be swiftly collected
and summarized to keep up with management
needs. Fishers processing and freezing their catch
on board must now report their total catch weekly
in all fishing districts. In addition, daily fish tickets
must be filled out, and these must match the
weekly reported total.
Management is based on closed spring and summer
seasons to prevent fishing during the egg-hatch
and growth period. Minimum mesh restrictions
have been implemented to ensure that only larger
animals are retained. Two different pot sizes have
been approved, with restrictions on the number
of pots per vessel based on which size class is used.
Fishing is further regulated through limited daily
deployment and hauling times. The permitting of
floating-processors is regulated, and all vessels are
required to carry on-board observers. (See “Existing
Management and Regulatory Systems,” below, for
details of these management restrictions.)
ADFG is expanding its shrimp management and
research program. Management data are acquired
through fish ticket data, limited pre- and postseason
surveys, and on-board and dockside catchsampling
programs. On-board sampling during
the fishing season was first instituted in 1999
and is being expanded, as is the number of areas
surveyed. In January 2000, the Board of Commercial
Fisheries adopted the Southeast Alaska Pot
Shrimp Management Plan, mandating that spot
prawns be managed on a “sustained yield” basis
(Love, ADFG. Pers. comm., May 2001).
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