This is really a good piece of news for both sport and commercial shrimpers as they are out to claim their stake of Prince William Sound bounty. Sport and subsistence shrimpers could use eight pots per person, up from five a year ago. There’s no limit on how many shrimp may be taken with those pots, which typically are about as big as a suitcase. And some 155 commercial boats, hauling up to 20 pots apiece, were registered for the first Prince William Sound commercial shrimp fishery in 19 years.
The fishery is said to close on Sunday. Palmer shrimp pot builder Steve Kalek, told that it is really amazing to see so many people keep coming. They are just wonderful things to eat, but it still amazes me how it grows year to year. Fish and Game estimates a surplus of 137,200 pounds of spot shrimp above the number needed to sustain a healthy population in the sound. Sport and subsistence shrimpers get 60 percent of that, or 82,200 pounds.
Fish and Game area management biologist Dan Bosch said that each year the free permits issued were increasing because it is a popular fishery, especially since the (Anton Anderson Memorial) Tunnel opened. He added that this time of year, shrimp tend to be in shallower water, too.
Kalek said his shrimp pot sales were up about 50 percent last year, with many clients fishing Prince William Sound. Last March, the state fisheries board passed a Prince William Sound commercial shrimping plan that allows a commercial harvest when the surplus estimate exceeds 110,000 pounds. Commercial shrimpers have a 55,000-pound limit.
According to Bosch slightly lower water temperatures in the sound over the past few years favor crustaceans over finfish, triggering the population boom. He also said that, in turn, has led to growing interest in sport shrimping, which entails an investment of several hundred dollars in pots, lines and buoys to get started — as well as the cost of a boat or charter.
