Registration is open at state fisheries offices in Cordova, Homer, Anchorage and Soldotna for the commercial shrimp pot fishing season beginning on April 15 in Area 2 of Prince William Sound, with a guideline harvest level of 63,100 pounds.
Participants must have a 2023 PO9E or P9IE interim use permit, available from the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission (CFEC).
Paper application forms are available from Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) offices or at https://cfec.state.ak.us/forms2023/Commercial_Fishing_Permit_Application.pdf. Applications may be submitted via fax or by emailing dfg.cfec.licensing@alaska.gov.
The second step in the process is to complete an ADF&G Prince William Sound shrimp pot fishery vessel registration, which can be done over the phone at 907-235-8191, via email or by fax to the Homer office during regular business hours.
The registration deadline is 5 p.m. on April 3. The number of shrimp pots that may be operated from a vessel registered for the fishery is to be announced in early April. For questions regarding registration, especially for those who have not participated previously, contact area shellfish management biologist Jan Rumble at 907-321-1569 or the Homer office at 907-235-8191.
ADF&G conducts an annual longline pot survey on spot shrimp in Prince William Sound. Results of this survey along with the fishery performance from the commercial and noncommercial fisheries are used in a surplus production model to determine the annual total allowable harvest. That total allowable harvest level must exceed 110,000 pounds for a commercial fishery to be prosecuted, which has occurred for the past 14 years, following the adoption of the management plan and reopening of the commercial fishery.
Fishery management and other pertinent regulations are found in Chapters 31 and 39 of the 2022-2023 Statewide Commercial Shrimp, Dungeness Crab, and Miscellaneous Shellfishbook, available online at http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fishregulations.commercial or at ADF&G offices.
ADF&G will be holding an in-person preseason meeting from noon to 1 p.m. on March 12 during the Board of Fisheries meeting at the Egan Civic and Convention Center in Anchorage.
