Two More Days Of Spot Shrimp Fishing For Hood Canal

Hood Canal shrimp fishery to open for two more days

OLYMPIA – Recreational shrimp fishers will get two consecutive days to harvest spot shrimp on Hood Canal, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced today.

Hood Canal (Marine Area 12) will open to recreational shrimp fishing from noon to 4 p.m. on Aug. 21 and 22. In addition, the daily catch limit will be increased to 100 shrimp per person from the typical 80 shrimp per person for these two days in Hood Canal.

Earlier this summer, the Hood Canal area was open for seven days for recreational harvest but roughly 19,000 pounds of quota remain, said Don Rothaus, WDFW shellfish biologist.

“This is a great opportunity for shrimp harvesters to enjoy some time on the water,” Rothaus said. “We don’t typically get many late-season openings in Hood Canal like this.”

Rothaus noted that the northern and southern areas of Hood Canal have yielded the best catches this season. The central section of the canal hasn’t been as productive as in previous seasons.

The only Puget Sound waters currently open to spot shrimp harvest are Marine Areas 4 east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line and Marine Area 5 (western Strait of Juan de Fuca).

More information on the seasons and rules for spot shrimp and non-spot shrimp is available online at https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/shrimp/.