Waters open for spot shrimping

One day of spot shrimp fishing will create a bit of a boating frenzy today.

One day of spot shrimp fishing will create a bit of a boating frenzy today.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced it would reopen the shrimp season for one day in two marine areas, including area 8-1 that covers the waters of Puget Sound east of Whidbey, from the north end to the Fox Spit region. The other region is in South Puget Sound in Marine Area 11.

Marine Area 8-1 will open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Marine Area 8-2 will not reopen for spot shrimp and will be closed to all shrimp fishing on June 5.

According to a release from fish and wildlife, in Marine Area 8 insufficient quota remains for a standard full day of fishing, so the opening was modified to take the small amount of remaining quota. This is an experimental opening to determine if smaller amounts of quota can be targeted and harvested by the recreational fishery.

See pages 134-136 of the 2013-14 “Fishing in Washington” pamphlet for details on fishing depth restrictions, pot mesh size rules, and descriptions of the species.