Pink shrimp (Pandalus jordani) are found in waters from southeast Alaska to California at depths of 37 to 460 meters. High densities of pink shrimp occur in well-defined areas, known as shrimp beds, over green mud or mud-sand substrates.

Genetic stock identification work on ocean shrimp has failed to isolate any genetic differences between ocean shrimp from off the coasts of California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia (Collier and Hannah 2001), so a single stock unit has tentatively been considered. Separate assessments are however conducted in US and Canadian waters, with multiple stocks considered and separately assessed in the latter.

Catches of pink shrimp in the USA exclusive economic zone (California to Washington) reached a record high of around 40 000 tons in 2014. Pink shrimp are taken in a demersal otter trawl fishery for mixed shrimp species off the West Coast of the USA that mainly operates in Washington, Oregon and northern California. Most catches of pink shrimp are taken in Oregon with around sixty licenced vessels participating in the fishery. Vessels operating in the fishery are typically less than 100 feet in length and use a double rigged system of box trawls fitted with mandatory bycatch reduction devices. The fishing season runs from the 1st of April to the 31st of October, and most commercial catches are taken in the daytime at depths between 90 and 180 meters. The fishery targets pink shrimp between one and two years of age and is strongly influenced by fluctuations in recruitment.

For assessment and management purposes, the pink shrimp population inhabiting the USA exclusive economic zone (California to Washington) is considered by the Department of Fish and Wildlife to be a single stock. No genetically distinct sub-populations of pink shrimp have been identified off the coasts of California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia (Collier and Hannah 2001). Adults from different shrimp beds rarely intermix, but the planktonic larvae undoubtedly intermingle given the lack of genetically distinct subpopulations in the region.

This fishery was recertified by the Marine Stewardship Council system in February 2013. Click here to link to the MSC fishery page and to learn more about the MSC fishery certification.