Division of Sport Fish |
Alaska Department of Fish and Game |
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Advisory Announcement |
CONTACT: Daniel Teske |
(Juneau) - The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced today that the sport and personal use (PU) pot shrimp fisheries in the Juneau area will remain closed until further notice. The closed area consists of all marine waters of Section 11-A (see attached map) north and west of a line extending from a regulatory marker near Point Bishop at 58o 12.32ʹ N. lat., 134o 10.14ʹ W long., to the Coast Guard marker and light on Point Arden at 58o 09.55ʹ N. lat., 134o10.68ʹ W. long., south of the latitude of Little Island Light at 58 o 32.41ʹ N. lat., 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 spot shrimp abundance in Section 11-A, the commercial, sport, and personal use fisheries were closed July 1, 2013 to allow the shrimp population in this area to rebuild. Creel census data from 2003–2007 indicated that the PU/sport fishery harvests were approximately equal to commercial harvests during this time. Department surveys conducted the past 3 years by Division of Commercial Fisheries indicate that recruitment of younger shrimp has failed to occur and closure of all pot fisheries that harvest spot shrimp in this area remain necessary to rebuild the population.
The intention of these closures is to allow spot shrimp abundance to rebound to a sustainable level that can again sustain harvests. The department will continue to monitor the Section 11-A shrimp resource.
#20-3068