Shellfish biologists with the Nisqually Tribe are hoping a long-term study will give them a better understanding of shrimp in South Sound.

The issue is determining just how big, or small, the shrimp populations are, said Margaret Homerding, a shellfish biologist for the tribe.

“The state conducted surveys a decade ago, but did not catch any spot prawns,” she said in a tribal news release.

The tribe has been dropping three shrimp pots every few months in various locations from the Nisqually Reach to lower Carr Inlet. Each pot location is tracked by GPS data, and any catch is recorded.

“We started surveying when we saw our crabbers pulling up spot prawns from their deeper pots,” Homerding said. “We are looking for all species of shrimp, but we’re focusing our efforts on spot prawns, which are the commercially valuable species.”

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