3 shrimp pots
- Thread starter Furudak
- Start date
0321Tony
Well-known member
Sad because this was a %100 completely sustainable sport/subsistance fishery the way it was and could have taken quite a bit more pressure with no worries until they let a few commercial boats come in and hammer them. Now within just a few short years it's on the downhill slide. But hey we gotta keep those commercial boats fishing and once again sport fisherman take it in the shorts.
We will be down to 2 pots and a seasonal limit before too long.
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We will be down to 2 pots and a seasonal limit before too long.
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theultrarider
New member
Beat me to posting this. This sucks.
Original post was for "subsistance". This EO says "Sport" and "Subsistance". Either way, this sucks.
https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/sf/EONR/index.cfm?ADFG=region.NR&Year=2019&NRID=2715
https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/sf/EONR/index.cfm?ADFG=region.NR&Year=2019&NRID=2715
That hasn't been announced yet. It generally is determined by how many vessels register for the fishery, what the TAC is, and what area they're fishing. I've heard a second-hand rumor that it might start at 30 pots/vessel this year. The first commercial season is generally no more than 7-10 days and they are restricted to deploying or lifting pots between the hours of 8am-8pm. Subsequent seasons and area closures are determined by catch and effort, both of which are continually monitored throughout the season.
KantishnaCabin
Active member
I'm frustrated by this restriction too, however. Its worth pointing out that it's a lot easier for the State to keep the commercial guys at or below their allowable harvest. They are monitored and their catch is tracked as its delivered etc. The nebulous reporting of the personal use and subsistence catch has to be extremely difficult to manage. They don't even have an estimate to work with until they chase all of us users down and brow beat us to fill out and return our catch report. And even then is the data good? How many of us are truly honest about how much we get and how often we go. For myself, I try to fill out my report as accurately as I can, however I know that I had to estimate on a couple of my trips because I forgot. I wonder if there is a better method? Perhaps a certified scale in the harbor? I don't know, but we probably need to start looking into different solutions. I'd rather see a shorter season than fewer pots, personally.
I usually make one or two, shrimping marathon trips. In the fall when the seiners come into port I pull all the gear for the season as do a lot of other locals in Valdez. Shortening the season may only hurt the Labor Day crowd and others that come down for silvers.
I am not going to argue that the commercial guys cut into our allocation (need to make a proposal to the BOF to change this) when they were allowed to operate, but the fact is that all us (yeah, we are all part of the issue) sport/sub shrimpers are going out in larger numbers and/or more often leading to more harvest is what led to this restriction from the four pots. Basically, I believe that the resource has taken quite a bit more pressure since the good old days. If I read the EO correctly, we actually have more allocation than last year, it just that harvest would likely be over the allocation limit with four pots
If i could ever figure out how to make the true cost of catching shrimp to work out less than just buying them I would really be one happy guy. However, I will never go down that rabbit hole as it never even comes closet to being a push, and I do it more for the enjoyment and hanging over the side when I know the pot is close to see what is in it than trying to put low cost shrimp in the belly/freezer
Andy82Hoyt
New member
I'm glad I have been putting off the purchase new pots and gear. Now I'll be running one line of pots with 3 instead of two lines of 2.
Right on this one! Guess I have to look at the bright side... cut my risk of loosing gear by half! Haha.
Don't discount how many people OVER estimate their catch, not that any fisherman has ever been guilty of that...
I would be willing to bet that more people say they caught more than they actually did. Maybe through the law of averages, those undercount balance out those who overcount. But if I had to bet I would put down a good amount of cash that the personal and subsistence users over estimate their catch and by a fair amount.
potbuilder
Well-known member
Not saying the comm guys need to be cut back if there is a problem but they have never exceeded their quota however according to F&G the rec's exceeded their quota by 28,000 lbs(28%) last year so i'd think that would be the first group to rein in a bit. I personally think the rec fishery needs to report their catches in at least monthly. I also would like to see the season cut by aprox a month. If that fails them maybe think of some sort of catch limit, nothing as drastic as washington state but maybe some kind of poundage limit per day ?
Guess i'll be stocking a lot of "lenghtners" of floating rope to make those 2 pot lines into 3 pot lines all will come with free splicing if you bring the lines to the shop.
Guess i'll be stocking a lot of "lenghtners" of floating rope to make those 2 pot lines into 3 pot lines all will come with free splicing if you bring the lines to the shop.
Frostbitten
New member
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What he said!!!
Guilty, as a shrimping newb.
One less pot will reduce catch, probably in a few ways. Methodology changes (three pots/one set) will limit prospecting. Day trip/multiple soak/changes. Since I'm new to this it brings up interesting adjustments.
A factor I believe F&G is overlooking is the concentration of recreation users in the areas near Whittier that off limits to the commercial fishery. I suspect that >50% of the rec users are concentrating in this area, so it begs the question: How has the shrimp population responded in this area over the past 5 years as the pot limits have gradually decreased? If the areas hit hardest by rec users are in fact over harvesting, perhaps the recreational fishery should embrace a rotational model like the commercial catch. A blanket reduction across the Sound does not make sense to me.
It would be nice to see the full sport fishing shrimp harvest report with the "take" areas. Whittier and Valdez do get hit harder than other areas that's expected. We have people over here that have small boats for shrimping and salmon once they come in. So they just target the Port Valdez area. Myself, I have a special spot that I go to and shrimp for 2-3 days and if Mother Luck is with me, I am done for the year. I think it has to be a blanket approach though as trying to regulate who has 3 pots, 4 pots and where they are heading might be problematic.
