New England shrimp population still struggling after fishery’s shutdown
October 19, 2018
PORTLAND, Maine (AP)—A regulatory board says New England’s shrimp population remains depleted years after the fishery for the species was shut down.
Fishermen in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts used to harvest Northern shrimp in the winter, but regulators shut the fishery down in 2013 amid concerns about low population and warming waters.
An arm of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission says it has reviewed a new assessment of the shrimp population that says there are far fewer of the crustaceans off of New England than there used to be. The commission says the rising temperatures of the Gulf of Maine are a threat to the shrimp.
The board is scheduled to meet on Nov. 15 and 16 to determine whether a moratorium on fishing for shrimp will continue into 2019.
