WA/OR/CA Shrimp Trawl Fishery - MMPA List of Fisheries
U.S. fisheries are classified under the Marine Mammal Protection Act according to the level of incidental mortality or serious injury of marine mammals.
Current Classification on the List of Fisheries
Category | III |
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Estimated Number of Participants | 130 |
Target Species | shrimp (pink, coonstripe, sidestripe, humpy) and prawns (ridgeback and golden) |
Applicable Take Reduction Plans | N/A |
Observer Coverage | Annual coverage in the pink shrimp fishery in each state since 2010 ranges from 7-23%. Coverage in the CA ridgeback prawn fishery in 2017 (10%) and 2018 (3%). |
Marine Mammal Species/Stocks Killed or Injured | California sea lion, U.S. |
Basis for Current Classification
Classified as a Category III fishery based on the lack of documented mortality or serious injuries of marine mammals based on the available data.
Distribution
The Category III WA/OR/CA shrimp trawl fishery in all three U.S. West Coast states generally occurs in Federal waters (3-200 nm or 5.6-370.4 km); however, there is a small amount of effort in Oregon state waters. The main target in the coastal fishery is pink shrimp, although other shrimp species such as ridgeback and golden prawns are landed as well. Pink shrimp are generally caught at depths of between 40-150 fathoms (240-900 feet or 73.2-274.3 m) on sandy and muddy bottoms during daylight hours due to their vertical migration to the ocean floor during the day. The fishery is closed in all three states from November 1 through March 31. The main target in the coastal fishery in southern California south of Point Conception is ridgeback prawn, and this species is caught at depths between 10-110 fathoms (60-660 ft or 18.3-201.2 m) on sandy and muddy bottoms. The fishery for ridgeback and golden prawns in southern California is closed from June 1 through September 31.
Fishing effort also occurs in Puget Sound, Washington. The Puget Sound shrimp trawl focuses on northern pink shrimp in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The main target species in the San Juan Islands are coonstripe shrimp, northern pink shrimp, and sidestripe shrimp, although humpback shrimp can compose a large portion of the catch in some years. The season generally takes place from May 1 through September 30 in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and from May 16 to October 15 in the San Juan Islands. Trawling cannot occur in waters shallower than 100 feet (30.5 m) in Puget Sound.
Gear Description
In California, Oregon, and Washington, benthic trawl gear is used. In Northern California, Oregon, and Washington, double rigged (i.e., having two otter trawl nets) vessels with semi-pelagic fine-meshed shrimp nets are used the majority of the time. In southern California, single rigged (one net) vessels are most common. The net contains a footrope (roller/ladder style) on average 25 feet (7.6 m) in length, configured in such a way that it is elevated above the sea floor at 1-3 feet (0.3-0.9 m).
A bycatch reduction device (BRD) consisting of either a rigid gate excluder (preferred) or a soft-panel excluder, along with footrope lighting devices, can be mandatory constituents of the gear configurations as well. The minimum mesh size for California shrimp and prawn trawl fisheries is 1 3/8 inches (3.5 cm) while it is 1 1/2 inches (3.8 cm) in Puget Sound. Only beam trawls are allowed in Puget Sound; in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the maximum beam size is 60 feet (18.3 m), while the maximum beam size in the San Juan Islands is 25 feet (7.6 m).
Management
The fishery is principally State-managed across the U.S West Coast, with different permitting, landing, and mesh size requirements depending upon location. California, Oregon, and Washington share mandatory Federal regulations limiting the take of eulachon, salmon and groundfish species that commonly occur as incidental catch. The coastal shrimp fishery requires a limited entry shrimp trawl fishery permit in all three respective states, except that the southern pink shrimp fishery (south of Pt. Conception) and ridgeback prawn fisheries are both open access fisheries. The states of Washington, Oregon, and California established a common season and a maximum count of 160 pink shrimp per pound (72 per kg) regulation to minimize regulatory conflict. Daily and monthly trip limits, logbooks, use of a vessel monitoring system, onboard observer coverage and area restrictions regarding groundfish essential fish habitat is also mandatory.
The harvest of shrimp in Puget Sound is co-managed by Washington State and the Puget Sound Treaty Tribes. The fishery is managed by emergency regulation and is permanently closed unless opened by emergency regulation. Fishing in the area requires a limited entry Puget Sound shrimp trawl license. Specific quotas are established each year for the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the San Juan Islands. State fishery observers are required on 10% of the commercial shrimp trawl trips in Puget Sound. BRDs to decrease bycatch of spot shrimp are not required, but are encouraged and utilized by some participating vessels. License holders must maintain shrimp beam trawl logbooks.
Historical Information
Original Category (Year added to the LOF) | III (1996) |
Original Number of Participants | 300 |
Basis for Original Classification | Listed as Category III based on the lack of documented mortality and serious injury of marine mammals based on the available data. |
Past Names | None |
Species/stocks historically documented as killed or injured (but not currently on the list) | None |
Timeline of Changes
2022 |
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2021 |
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