(Anchorage) – The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) is reducing the number of pots allowed to be used per person and per vessel in the 2025 Prince William Sound (PWS) noncommercial (sport and subsistence) shrimp pot fishery, as well as reducing the length of the season.
The 2025 season pot limit per person and per vessel has been reduced to two pots and the season has been reduced to May 1 – July 31 for all of the Prince William Sound Management Area. The noncommercial shrimp pot fishery is allocated 60% of the total allowable harvest (TAH) limit, while the commercial shrimp pot fishery receives 40%. In 2024, with a noncommercial guideline harvest level (GHL) of 70,214 pounds, the pot limit was reduced to two pots near the Port of Valdez and Whittier and three pots for the outer areas for the entire season and the estimated harvest was 77,832 pounds of shrimp. The 2024 noncommercial fishery harvest was 7,618 pounds (11%) over the GHL. In 2025, the noncommercial GHL is 48,388 pounds of shrimp (60% of the TAH).
“Pot limits for the 2025 season will be two pots for all of Prince William Sound and new for 2025 there will be a seasonal restriction. The noncommercial shrimp fishery will not open until May 1 and will be closed for the season on August 1,” stated the Sport Fish Area Manager Brittany Blain-Roth. “We are currently observing a decrease in shrimp productivity and overall biomass which means less shrimp are available to harvest.”
In March, the Alaska Board of Fisheries (BOF) met to discuss miscellaneous statewide shellfish, including PWS shrimp. For additional information about the new shellfish regulations for Prince William Sound shrimp & Cook Inlet shellfish, a summary is available online. The BOF adopted a regulation to allow one additional pot per vessel in addition to the legal limit of shrimp pot gear, this is being implemented for the 2025 season. As a reminder, shrimp pots may be longlined, but a crab pot may not be fished on a longline with a shrimp pot.
The PWS noncommercial shrimp permits will be available online after April 1st and all permit harvest reports are due by September 1, 2025, regardless of whether you went shrimping or not. All fishery participants are required to have a permit with them while shrimping. Participants may report their harvest online at any time and should note the change in the harvest reporting deadline due to the change in the season closing date. Also, reporting daily is possible online or on the ADF&G Mobile App and is highly encouraged. If shrimpers fail to report their harvest by September 1, they will be ineligible for a permit in 2026.
The commercial shrimp fishery rotates every year between three defined locations in PWS. The 2025 commercial fishery will be in Area 1 which is in the northern area of PWS and includes popular locations such as Unakwik Inlet. For additional information about the commercial shrimp fishery for the PWS area, please see the commercial fisheries advisory announcements page.
For more information, please contact Area Management Biologist Brittany Blain-Roth 907-267-2186 or Assistant Area Management Biologist Donald Arthur at 907-267-2225. For additional information about the PWS subsistence and commercial shrimp pot fisheries, please contact Area Management Biologist Martin Schuster in Homer at 907-235-8191.