Outdoors/Adventure

Shrimp: Catch 'em if you can

Slowly but surely, the pot that's been sitting several hundred feet below the water surface is pulled near the top. Is it heart-breakingly empty, or packed full of squirming crustaceans?

The scene could almost be from an episode of "Deadliest Catch," tracking king crabbers working Alaska's Bering Sea. But just as often, it plays out, albeit in a tamer form, for thousands of shrimpers who drop pots in Prince William Sound each season.

In May when early-season salmon and halibut angling tends to be achingly slow, fresh and tasty barbecue fare is available to anyone with a boat -- or access to one.

"It's a surprise, like Christmas," said Whittier's Jim Muhar, who often takes clients shrimping aboard his Alaska Prince William Sound Charters vessel. "They're the best shrimp you'll find anywhere in the world. So sweet you don't need to put anything on them."

Shrimpers have been busy lowering pots since mid-April, though the closure of the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel to Whittier for more than a week due to a rock slide knocked out some early-season trips.

Unlike anglers, Prince William Sound shrimpers face no limits on their catch -- just a restriction on the number of pots. Each shrimper is limited to five with an additional limit of five per vessel.

A permit is also required before fishing. The Alaska Board of Fisheries added the permit requirement this spring to help the Alaska Department of Fish and Game track the catch in what appears to be a growing, noncommercial fishery for shrimp in the Sound.

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Though shrimping isn't exactly easy -- pulling pots can be hard work even with an electric hauler -- it is popular.

"There are times it runs through my mind as I'm pulling up hundreds of feet of line, 'Why am I doing this?' " said Cindy Ruth of Eagle River, who's been shrimping in Prince William Sound with her husband Scott for about six years.

"But you have no clue until you get the pot to the top of the water what's in it, and that's a thrill. Every pot can be different. You wonder, 'How can I have so many shrimp in one pot and not a one in the next?' "

In 2004, the last year permits were required for Prince William Sound shrimpers before permitting resumed this year, some 1,600 permits were issued and a reported 10,700 gallons of shrimp were harvested, according to Dan Bosch of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The average was less than a gallon of shrimp per pot per day, but an elite corps of shrimpers -- about 5 percent of them -- scored more than 2 gallons per pot per day.

A new Pot Shrimp Management Plan for the Sound relies on Fish and Game surveys to determine the harvestable surplus of shrimp available each year. The Board has set aside 60 percent of that catch for sport, personal use and subsistence fisheries.

The Board has also instituted a requirement for a threshold surplus of 110,000 pounds before allowing a commercial fishery. With the harvest level for 2009 seat at 96,500 pounds, there will be no commercial fishery. The only way to get fresh Sound shrimp will be to catch them yourself.

Shrimp pot builder Steve Kalek of Palmer believes interest is mushrooming in Whittier.

"It's grown tremendously," he said. "I can see it in the amount of boats over there (in Whittier) with pots on them. I gillnet over there, and in five years we've gone from not seeing any pots on boats to seeing a whole lot of them."

But Kalek isn't worried about the shrimp getting fished out.

"I know there are places in Prince William Sound that the shrimp are butt deep, but there's never been a pot on them," he said.

Still, he would like to see a restriction on a season that now runs from April 15 through Sept. 15.

"They should shorten it," he said. "From August on, you see more and more shrimp with eggs on them, and they're starting to taste chalky. I'd close it Sept. 1."

Despite an investment of at least $150 to $200 in pots, lines and buoys to get started -- not to mention the costs of boats or charters -- the tasty reward justifies the expense for many.

"Sometimes I'm amazed at the amount of money people spend to go shrimping," said Kalek, an East Coast lobster fisherman before moving to Alaska. "It's a big investment, but look what you're getting back."

Many Sound boaters do economize by combining angling excursions with shrimping, dropping pots on the way to the fishing grounds and picking them up on the way back.

Alaska has five shrimp species -- spot, coonstripe, sidestripe, humpy and northern (or pink). Spots are typically largest.

Finding shrimp hangouts is, perhaps, a newcomer's biggest challenge. Shrimp live at a variety of depths in an assortment of habitats. Rock piles, coral gardens and pinnacles can prove rewarding.

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"The learning curve is pretty short," said Tom Robertson of B & J Commercial, which sells shrimping gear. "You can get productive pretty quick."

But Ruth warns there will be bad days sprinkled among good ones.

"It is up and down," she said. "It takes a while before you start finding good spots."

Even then, Kalek warns, shrimpers need to take care with rigging, be acutely aware of currents and use enough line -- Kalek recommends 25 to 30 percent more than you need to reach the bottom. He thinks what some shrimpers consider lost or stolen pots are victims of the current.

"The current sweeps the pots into deep water, and if there's not enough buoy line, they're gone. The place is always in motion, like a river. In five minutes, the current can sweep them away."

According to Fish and Game, depths of around 360 feet are best for spot shrimp, which range as deep as 1,500 feet. Shrimp move around a lot in the water column. They can be found in as little as 6 feet of water and as much as 4,800 feet, nearly a mile.

Opportunistic feeders, shrimp often move up the water column at night, then return to the bottom by day.

Muhar, who's shrimped in Prince William Sound for 10 years, believes "populations have gotten even healthier over that time. They're bountiful and they're large."

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Not to mention tasty.

"Once you eat one of those," Kalek said, "you won't want to buy one anywhere again."

Reach reporter Mike Campbell at mcampbell@adn.com or 257-4329.

If you go …

Gearing Up

• Shrimp Pots: Rigid and folding models available. Popular size is 24-by-24-by-9 inches. Weight in the pots will help them stay anchored, and covering a portion with fabric can make them more attractive to shrimp. Set pots so they swing into the current.

• Pot Haulers: For those not wanting sore arms and shoulders, pot haulers such as Electra-Dyne work well.

• Line: Use stout, weighted sinking line at least 10 percent longer than the depth you intend to fish to allow for tides and currents.

• Buoys: Make sure they're easy to see. Both inflatable and hard foam versions available. Must have certain information printed on them; check the regulations.

• Bait: Some prefer oily bait that leaves a scent trail. Others like shrimp pellets.

• Other equipment: Buoy swivels to ensure buoy lines twist free, pot spinners to keep dropper lines free of kinks, depth finder, navigational chart that can help you find pinnacles and drop offs.

Regulations

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• Season: April 15-Sept. 15

• Permit: Get free permit at sporting goods retailers in Valdez and Fish and Game offices in Anchorage, Cordova and Soldotna.

• Bag/Possession Limit: None

• Pots: 5 per person with a maximum of 5 per boat

Information

• Fish and Game: 267-2218, or by e-mail at sfreg2@fishgame.state.

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• Weather and tides from National Weather Service, www.arh.noaa.gov

SOURCES: Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Alaska Shrimp Pots

By MIKE CAMPBELL

mcampbell@adn.com

Mike Campbell

Mike Campbell was a longtime editor for Alaska Dispatch News, and before that, the Anchorage Daily News.

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