March 7, 2015 — Commercial shrimp fishermen who already have gone two years without a harvest shared sharply divided opinions about the future of their fishery Saturday at the 40th annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum.
The Maine Department of Marine Fisheries held a public hearing at the Samoset Resort event to learn what the fishermen think about proposed amendments to the northern shrimp management plan, which could limit access to the fishery. As of now, if the shrimp population rebounds and the fishery is reopened, anyone who pays for a commercial fishing license can drag a net or drop traps to harvest the small, tasty crustacean.
Some fishermen in the room seemed in favor of any change to the fishery that might increase its chances of survival, but others were vehemently opposed to anything that would limit access.
“I think there’s too much regulation going on,” Jim Hanscom of Bar Harbor said. “Pitting fishermen against fishermen is just no good. Limited entry, it’s just cutting people out … I think it’s foolish. Maybe just leave it alone, and let it be.”
Last November, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission decided to keep the Gulf of Maine shrimp season closed for the second consecutive winter. The interstate commission made the ruling after the 2014 shrimp stock status report indicated that the current fishable biomass in the gulf is the lowest on record.
Officials from the commission said in November that they considered the stock to have collapsed, with little prospect of recovery in the immediate future. While scientists have said they do not know for certain why the fishery collapsed, sharply increasing water temperatures in the gulf, a decrease in phytoplankton, which shrimp eat, and a rise in predators, all are suspected in the decline.
Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News