According to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), the six-month, seven-day-a-week season that began on 1 December is a reward for favorable stock conditions and absence of overfishing by the fleet.
However, recent catches have been low because U.S. buyers have kept the species at an arm's length. The season was cut to 25 days in 2002 and it's taken years for the markets to return.
The ASMFC expects the 2005 year-class to provide high-quality product at the docks. And demand for northern pink shrimp should improve, said an East Coast supplier, because Newfoundland, one of the world's largest sources for Pandalus borealis, "left a lot of shrimp in the water," creating opportunity for Maine's supply to step in.
New England fishermen landed about 4.8 million pounds last year, less than half of 2007's haul of 10.8 million pounds. But the supplier is optimistic that demand will significantly improve, adding that the United Kingdom is the world's No. 1 market for pink shrimp.
The price that the market will dictate is yet uncertain, but a safe bet would be similar to last year, when cooked-and-peeled shrimp sold in the high-USD 2 to low-USD 3 range.
The 2010 fishing season, which is the same for mobile and trap gear, will remain open through 29 May.
December 13, 2009
