Moratorium eyed

for shrimp season

PORTLAND, Maine — A regulatory committee says the Gulf of Maine shrimp population is in such poor shape that the upcoming shrimp-fishing season should be called off this winter.

In its 2012 assessment report, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s shrimp technical committee is recommending that a fishing moratorium be enacted for the upcoming season. If a season is allowed to go forward, the committee says it shouldn’t start until at least half of the shrimp have hatched their eggs, which typically happens around mid-February.

“Ocean temperatures in the western Gulf of Maine shrimp habitat have been increasing in recent years and have reached or approached unprecedented highs in the past three years,” the report reads. “This suggests an increasingly inhospitable environment for northern shrimp and indicates the need for protecting spawning biomass.”

The commission’s shrimp-regulating panel, which includes representatives from Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, is scheduled to meet today in Portland and decide what the season should look like or whether to even have one. The panel sets the season and the target harvest based on scientific surveys of the highly variable shrimp population.

There’s likely to be a strong turnout of shrimp fishermen, processors and others who would be hurt if the season is shut down or cut back.

— The Associated Press