Juneau- The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, today announced a closure to the personal use and sport shrimp fisheries in the Juneau area beginning 12:01 a.m. July 1, 2013. The closed area will consist of all marine waters of Section 11-A (see attached map) north and west of a line extending from Point Bishop to the Coast Guard marker and light on Point Arden, south of the latitude of Little Island Light, and east of a line from Little Island Light to Point Retreat Light.

Due to declining commercial fishery catch per unit of effort (CPUE) indicating low shrimp abundance in section 11-A, the commercial fishery will be closed for a period of three years to allow the stock to rebuild. There is limited personal use (PU) and sport fishery harvest data available for this area, however creel census data from 2003–2007 indicate that the PU/sport fishery harvests were equal to commercial harvests during this time. Therefore, closure of all fisheries that harvest this stock is necessary to rebuild the stock.  The personal use and sport shrimp fisheries will be closed until further notice.

The intention of these closures is to allow shrimp abundance to rebound from the current low level. The department will continue to monitor the section 11-A shrimp resource, and the personal use and sport fisheries will remain closed until data indicates shrimp abundance can again sustain harvests.

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