Eighty-three vessels have registered for the Prince William Sound Area E commercial shrimp pot fishery, which opens on April 15, with a guideline harvest level of 67,000 pounds.
The registration deadline was April 3.
Gear limits are initially set at a maximum of 40 shrimp pots per vessel, said biologists with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Fishing hours during this initial period are set by emergency order at 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
An announcement of future fishing periods will be dependent upon prompt catch reporting and harvest levels.
Biologists warned that shrimp pot gear may be deployed and retrieved only between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. during the open fishing period and may not be stored in the water or deployed prior to the opening of the season.
A vessel operator may not have more than the legal limit of pot gear in aggregate on board the vessel or in the water at any time. Shrimp pots deployed on a longline with six or more pots must have a buoy attached to each end of the longline.
Once a fishing period or season closes, shrimp pots may be stored in saltwater only if all bait and bait containers have been removed and all doors secured fully open, and for no more than 14 days, ADF&G said.
