Maine’s northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) fishery, closed for the first time last year in more than 30 years because populations dipped to their lowest recorded levels, may be closed again, according to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. When the fishery reopens the council may restrict the number of licenses or number of vessels to reduce fishing pressure.
The restrictions are in development and will likely be the subject of public hearings this year, regulators said. New restrictions on the fishery would need shrimp section approval after public hearings.
The Gulf of Maine fishery's estimated biomass plunged from more than 7,000 metric tons (MT) in 2011 to about 500 MT in 2013, said Marin Hawk, management plan coordinator for the commission. "Indicators show the fishery is not at the levels that they would like it to see,” Hawk told the Associated Press.
The number of vessels in the fishery has fluctuated since 2000, with a low of 144 in 2006 and a high of 342 in 2011. Maine issued an average of 463 licenses per year from 2001 to 2011. The shrimp section also sets a total allowable catch limit every year.
Fishermen from Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts fish for the shrimp. Maine dominates the fishery and caught nearly 5 million pounds of the shrimp in 2012. The catch plummeted to about 560,000 pounds in 2013, the last year the fishery was open.
