The Spot Prawn Fishery: A Status Report - Earth Economics

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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. __________________________________________________________ 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). 9
The Spot Prawn Fishery: A Status Report The 1999–2000 spot prawn fishery was characterized by: •a strong market for whole prawns with an approximate value of $4 million •a growing number of catcher-processors participating •an increasing number of permits fished •an increase in total pounds caught per permit •an increase in pounds per landing •a majority of fishing districts being harvested within one month Today’s management and conservation concerns fall into two broad categories: the potential for overfishing and the potential for overcapitalization. The risk of overfishing stems from the following factors: •GHLs are not based on current estimates of population abundance •size-specific harvesting; i.e., the retention of the larger, more valuable (in both economic and biological terms) females •potential for serial stock depletion The potential for overcapitalization of the fishery arises from the following factors: •increasing number of permits actively fished •increasing number of catcher-processors participating in the fishery •increasing intensity and efficiency of the fishery The Shrimp Trawl Fishery Annual shrimp trawl harvests have fallen steadily; prime fishing areas (Cook Inlet, Kodiak, and the Alaska Peninsula) are now closed due to depleted stocks. Pink shrimp are still the primary target of the trawl fishery (otter trawls are banned in southeastern Alaska), constituting approximately 80% of trawl landings by weight. Spot prawns are landed only incidentally in Alaska’s shrimp trawl fisheries. Comparatively few adult spot prawns are harvested by trawl gear, as the beam trawlers do not fish the rocky habitats preferred by adult spot prawns. Smaller spot prawns (juveniles), which can be found in softbottom habitats, are occasionally caught in beam trawls (Love, ADFG. Pers. comm., May 2001). Approximately 1,029,382 kg. (2,264,641 pounds) of shrimp were landed in the 1998–99 fishing season. It is estimated that the harvest was made up of “only a trace of spot prawns” (Koeneman and Botelho 2000b). Through November 1999 of the 1999–2000 fishing season, 829,183 kg. (1,824,203 pounds) of shrimp had been landed—2,409 kg. (5,300 pounds) was spot prawns. Recreational, Subsistence, and Personal Use Spot Prawn Fisheries The recreational, subsistence, and personal use fisheries, specifically for spot prawns, are regulated but not closely monitored in Southeastern Estimated Recreational/Personal Use Harvests of Shrimp in Gallons in Southern Alaska as Estimated from the Statewide Harvest Mail Survey, 1992–1999 Source: Paul Suchanek, ADFG 10
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The Spot Prawn Fishery: A Status Report - Earth Economics

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