Logbooks and sales slips are mandatory. In addition, biological data and samples are collected by offshore research cruises and through commercial sampling. The spot prawn, Pandalus platyceros , is the largest of six commercial pandalid shrimp species occurring in B.C waters. License limitation came into effect for this fishery in 1990. In 1996 there were 257 licenses eligible for this fishery, of which 253 licenses were issued and 221 reported landings.
Most frozen product is exported to Japan.
Effort has increased in other ways, however, as more vessels are fishing up to the limit of their trap allocation, fishers are working every day during the fishery opening rather than taking any time off, and by 1997 fishers were double or triple hauling their gear, particularly at the beginning of the season. Although the 1996 landings are high compared to previous years, the industry funded in-season biological monitoring which had commenced in 1995 provided managers with increased confidence that fishing grounds were being closed at appropriate times to achieve conservation goals. With expectations of a poor salmon season in 1996, all W licensed vessels appeared to remain in the prawn fishery from the season opening on April 15 until it closed on August 15. Industry requested and DFO agreed to increase the minimum size limit to 32 mm carapace length. Because of the earliest coast wide closure of the fishery on record, the fall scheduled openings of the five prawn Special Management Areas occurred at a time when there were no other prawn fishing alternatives.