WA/OR Shrimp Pot/Trap Fishery - MMPA List of Fisheries

Current Classification on the List of Fisheries

^ Number of participants estimates are based on state and federal fisheries permit data.  The estimated number of participants is expressed in terms of the number of active participants in the fishery, when possible.  If this information is not available, the estimated number of vessels or persons licensed for a particular fishery is provided. If no recent information is available on the number of participants, then the number from the most recent LOF is used.  NOAA Fisheries acknowledges that, in some cases, these estimations may be inflating actual effort.

*Observer coverage levels include the latest information reported in the most current final Stock Assessment Report (SAR).

¹ Indicates the stock or species is driving the classification of the fishery.

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 shrimp pot/trap fishery targets coonstripe shrimp and spot shrimp in both Oregon and Washington. However, humpback and pink shrimp are also targeted to a lesser degree in Washington. Shrimp pot fishing in Oregon, which primarily takes place near the Oregon/Washington border, is allowed year round although most landings occur in the spring and summer months. Limited fishing effort in southern Oregon has only recently developed in the last few years. 

Shrimp pot fishing in Washington (generally divided into a spot shrimp and non-spot shrimp pot fishery) is managed as separate fisheries with the coastal Washington shrimp pot fishery west of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line and the Puget Sound fishery east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line. Coastal shrimp pot fishing generally occurs 20-40 miles (37.0-74.1 km) offshore at depths of 70 to 100 fathoms (420-600 ft or 128.0-182.9 m). Puget Sound is divided into 6 management regions. Commercial fishing in Puget Sound can only commence once the recreational seasons have ended, generally running from early July through September. Effort is concentrated in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and near the San Juan Islands for both spot shrimp and non-spot shrimp, but a limited amount of fishing also occurs in Central Puget Sound.

Gear Description

In Oregon, traps are tapered and circular in shape, with a ½-inch (1.3 cm) square cord mesh over a steel frame 39 inch (99.1 cm) diameter and 16 inches (40.6 cm) tall. The entrance tunnels must be between 1.5 and 3 inches (3.8 and 7.6 cm) at the widest point. The law requires a destructive device on traps that degrades rapidly enough to facilitate escape of a substantial proportion of all species confined in the trap from any trap that cannot be raised. The typical configuration involves a set of 10-15 traps connected to a long line weighted at both ends and marked with a polyball or flagpole. In Oregon and coastal Washington, each terminal end must be marked with a pole, flag, light, radar reflector, and a buoy showing clear identification of the owner or operator.

In coastal Washington, pots/traps cannot have a bottom perimeter greater than 153 inches (12.85 ft or 3.9 m) or a height greater than 24 inches (61.0 cm). The minimum mesh size is ⅞ inch (2.2 cm). All pots are required to have an escape mechanism. A string of up to 50 pots is typical. The pots are left to soak for a minimum of 24 hours. In Puget Sound, the maximum pot perimeter is 10 feet (3.0 m) and a maximum height of 18 inches (45.7 cm). The minimum mesh size is ½ inch (1.3 cm), although a 1⅛ inch (2.9 cm) stretch measure is allowable for flexible mesh pots, and shrimp pot buoys are required to be orange.

Management

In Oregon, the shrimp pot fishery is an open access permit fishery with minimum landing size requirements and obligations to retain and land all target species, along with mandatory logbook reporting. There are no individual or total landing quotas. 

In Washington, shrimp pot fisheries are limited entry fisheries, but permits are transferable. There are annual harvest quotas and regional harvest shares established annually through co-management agreements with Tribes and recreational fishermen. Minimum landing size requirements, landing obligations, and logbook reporting are required. In Puget Sound, the fishery is managed through individual quotas for each license and with biweekly quotas for each area. Individuals cannot hold more than two licenses. Each license allows the designated vessel to fish with a maximum of 100 pots per area.

Historical Information

Timeline of Changes