The Spot Prawn Fishery: A Status Report - Earth Economics

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The Spot Prawn Fishery: A Status Report with either trawls or pots. During the open fishery for pink shrimp, regulations allow the use of smallmesh trawl nets. Larger mesh size is required when the groundfish fishery is open. Spot prawns can be legally retained as bycatch during the shrimp season. Prawns are not actively targeted by the pink shrimp fishery and are caught only incidentally. Pink shrimp nets are easily destroyed in spot prawn habitat, and as a result do not lend themselves to actively fishing prawns. Pots have been tested, particularly in nearshore areas, but have proved uneconomical compared to trawling. As a result, pot activity is low. There is no recreational fishery for spot prawns in Oregon. The Developmental Fisheries Program Spot prawns are managed under ODFW’s Developmental Fisheries Program. The Oregon Legislature created the Developmental Fisheries Program in 1993 “to allow for the controlled development of new commercial fisheries” (McCrae 1994). The Program was created in order “to institute a management system for developmental fishery resources that addresses both long term commercial and biological values, and that protects the long term sustainability of those resources through planned commercial development when appropriate” (ODFW 2001). The Developmental Fisheries Board is made up of a wide range of commercial fishing interests— harvesters, processors, and agencies. It was established to assist ODFW in the annual determination of species to be included in the Developmental Fisheries Program. The Developmental Fisheries Board and the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission establish annual harvest conditions. The Program is seen as encouraging “controlled development” of fisheries for species that suffer from a lack of biological information. “Controlled development is a means of collecting sufficient information to: 1) understand the effects of fishing, 2) establish sustainable harvest levels, and 3) determine how to minimize impacts on other marine resources. This information is required by Statewide Planning Goal 19 (Ocean Resources) and the Territorial Sea Plan” (ODFW 2001). The 2001 Developmental Fisheries Program includes 73 species that fall into one of three categories: •Category A species (“those with the most potential for a viable fishery”) are managed under a limited-harvest program. A developmental fishery permit, in addition to a commercial fishing and/or boat license, is required to catch these species. A permit is not needed to catch these species as bycatch in other established fisheries. Category A permits are non-transferable, but can be renewed annually if minimum renewal (landings) requirements are met. •Category B (“those with less potential for a viable fishery”) and Category C (“already under another state or federal management plan”) species do not require developmental fishery permits for harvest. Spot prawns fall into Category A. A maximum of six trawl and 10 “other gear” permits are allowed. The annual renewal requirements (landings/ pounds) are 5/100 lb. or 1/1,000 lb. (round weight). For a fishery to become “developed,” information must be collected that will allow for the creation of a fishery management plan that includes: •understanding the effects of fishing •establishing sustainable catch levels •determining how to minimize the impacts of fishing on other marine species and the marine environment Logbook requirements are a component of holding a permit and are means of collecting vital biological and management information through Developmental Fishing Permits. Fishers may also be required to supply biological samples or allow ODFW observers on-board to collect data. Additional Regulatory Requirements Fish-eye bycatch excluder devices are required in all spot prawn trawls. This regulation was established in order to address potential concerns regarding the bycatch of red rockfish in the fishery. There is no compliance monitoring. Because the catch limits are low, ODFW believes that there is a natural incentive for fishers to use bycatch-reduction devices (Hannah, ODFW—Marine Program. Pers. comm., March 2001). Reciprocal landing laws have been put into effect to prevent vessels from landing Washington spot prawns in Oregon ports in order to circumvent Washington fishing regulations. Management Issues and Concerns There is little basic biological knowledge about 37
The Spot Prawn Fishery: A Status Report spot prawns in Oregon. What information exists suggests that spot prawns are abundant only in limited habitat types with little or no migration between areas. According to ODFW, the fishery’s biological potential appears finite. ODFW is concerned that, given the scale of spot prawn distribution in Oregon, localized depletions are likely, and the population is at risk due to overfishing. The long-term sustainability of the fishery requires that basic biological and ecological information is acquired and reflected in management and regulatory systems. The short- and long-term effects of harvesting spot prawns on spot prawns, other marine species, and the ecosystem must be determined. According to ODFW, spot prawns should continue to be “managed under the developing fisheries program with conservative numbers of permits and landing restrictions” (McCrae 1994). The Department has identified the following areas for further inquiry: •Acquire the scientific information needed to determine the biological status, distribution, and life history of spot prawns by: 1. obtaining area-specific biological samples, as well as on-board and dockside samples 2. recording gear, effort, location, depth, and time data in logbooks 3. analyzing existing trawl survey and commercial fishery incidental catch data •Develop an understanding of the effects of fishing on marine habitats and ecosystems and other species •Improve fishing practices and equipment to protect the ocean resources, particularly by: 1. developing fishing methods that reduce the impact of trawl gear on marine habitat 2. developing fishing methods that reduce incidental catch of non-target species •Identify and protect critical marine habitat and other important biological habitats for spot prawns, by identifying juvenile, spawning, and rearing areas CALIFORNIA SPOT PRAWN FISHERY Biological Status of Spot Prawns Spot prawns in California are distributed in the Santa Barbara Channel and at the head of submarine canyons such as Monterey Canyon, its tributary Carmel Canyon, and the canyons of the Southern California Bight. Spot prawns are also associated with ocean features such as offshore banks, ridges, and islands like the Channel Islands. Exploratory biological surveys carried out by the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) in the 1960s revealed the presence of spot prawns coast-wide. Estimates of population size were not made at that time. Additional surveys carried out in the 1980s focused on species distribution and range. At present, few data are available regarding the status of the stock, other than that an annual harvest level exceeding 300,000 pounds has been maintained for most of the last ten years. CDFG does not have the resources to conduct biological surveys. Catch per unit of effort (CPUE) and total catch are considered by managers to be the best indicators available of resource status. These indicators “appear to be sustainable at this time” (Paul Reilly, CDFG. Pers. comm., February 2001). History of the Fishery The California spot prawn fishery has a fairly long history, beginning in the 1930s, when Monterey Bay fishers started landing spot prawns incidentally caught in octopus traps. It did not develop into a commercial-scale fishery until the 1970s. Statewide annual landings never exceeded 10,000 pounds until 1974, when Santa Barbara trawlers caught more than 182,000 lbs. of spot prawns. The Santa Barbara area became the focus of the spot prawn fishery, and trawl the primary gear type. By 1994, the spot prawn fishery consisted of four principal geographical components: northern California trawl, northern California trap, southern California trawl, and southern California trap. In the northern fishery (north of Morro Bay), the number of trawlers has fluctuated between 1 and 27 vessels over the last 20 years; trap vessels have varied between 4 and 13. In the southern fishery, trawlers have numbered from 17 to 51, trap vessels from 1 to 66. Statewide landings nearly doubled between 1994 and 1998, reaching a historic peak of 772,900 lbs. All elements of the fishery showed significant growth: northern trawl showed a 14- fold increase, northern trap a 4-fold increase, southern trawl a 4-fold increase, and southern trap almost doubled. The rapid development of the fishery is attributable to a number of different factors, including: •increased market demand •increased fishing effort due to California and 38
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