Method

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Our prawns are caught using 100 - 140 small pots. Each pot is baited, and attached to a "ground line" that sits on the seafloor. Shrimp enter the pots through three small doors, and pots are turned through at least once per day. A "string" refers to one segment of ground line with pots, and strings average 5 - 10 pots each. 

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Management

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The Southeast Alaska spot prawn fishery is managed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. All of Southeast Alaska is divvied up into small "management areas", which are frequently sampled throughout the duration of the fishery, and closed on an area-by-area basis. We call into our local shellfish biologist every day on the satellite phone to report harvest, as well as the ratio of males to females.

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Region

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Our permit allows us to fish nearly anywhere in the Inside Passage of Southeast Alaska. We generally fish somewhere around or south of Sitka.

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Sustainability

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Since all pots are turned through on a daily basis, any unwanted catch (aka "by-catch") can be safely returned to the sea. Our most common by-catch includes pacific octopus (which we are allowed to retain and sell), as well as sea urchins, starfish, and sculpins - all of which are harmlessly returned to the ocean. Additionally, each of our pots are outfitted with a "rot line". Rot lines are a rapid-deteriorating section of string that's woven into the mesh of each pot. That means, if we happen to lose a string of pots at sea (which does happen...) the rot line will deteriorate, opening up the pot, ensuring it's not sitting on the seafloor capturing marine life for the next 100 years.