Pink Shrimp

Pink shrimp are principally managed at the state level along the US West Coast (California, Oregon, Washington) through the state Fish and Wildlife agencies. The state agencies responsible for shrimp fishery management along the US West Coast include: the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. In 1981, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) created a draft fisheries management plan for pink shrimp. While the plan has never been formally adopted, California, Oregon, and Washington have several uniform management regulations and formally work together with the PFMC to manage the fishery. Among the uniform measures the state agencies have agreed upon are:

• A closed season from November 1st through March 31st to protect egg-bearing females
• A maximum count per pound
• Implementing the use of bycatch reduction devices (to protect rockfish and eulachon)
• Gear restrictions (though specifics vary by state)

Some federal regulations do apply to the pink shrimp trawl fishery along the US West Coast. All observer programs for the pink shrimp fishery are managed federally through the National Marine Fishery Service’s West Coast Groundfish Observer Program. Additionally, the pink shrimp fishery is subject to federal regulations outlined in the West Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan to protect groundfish stocks and essential fish habitat.

The Oregon and Washington (as well as part of California) pink shrimp fisheries are limited entry with the number of available fishing permits varying by state. Recently the number of active fishers has been less than the number of available commercial licenses. Pink shrimp currently account for the majority of the landings and revenue from the US West Coast shrimp fisheries – with the majority of landings occurring in Oregon. Oregon currently carries out stock assessments for pink shrimp while California and Washington do not.

Pink shrimp are managed by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) in Canada. The DFO manages the British Columbia commercial shrimp trawl fishery via 36 different Shrimp Management Areas (SMAs). Each SMA is managed and assessed separately by the DFO. While the shrimp fishery is dominated by pink shrimp, other northern shrimp species are caught as part of the multispecies nature of fishery. Each species is assessed separately, but managed under one total allowable catch (TAC) per SMA. If a TAC is exceeded or if stock biomass drops into the critical zone, then that particular SMA is closed to fishing. Among other measures the DFO uses to manage the shrimp fishery include:

• A designated fishing season
• Area closures
• Limits on the number of vessels that can participate in the fishery
• Gear restrictions and bycatch reduction strategies
• Dockside monitoring