Fishery regulators Thursday increased the amount of Gulf of Maine shrimp that can be caught this season, but Maine fishermen and processors said the higher limit won’t make much difference.
More than 150 fishermen and processors packed a meeting room in South Portland, where a committee of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted to increase the season’s catch limit from 4.4 million pounds to nearly 4.9 million pounds, or about 10 percent.
Regulators said that based on scientific assessments, the 4.9 million-pound mark was the maximum catch that could be allocated without putting the shrimp population at risk. Members of Maine’s shrimp industry were seeking a much higher catch limit they say is necessary to sustain the industry.
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