A scientific committee says Maine’s cold water shrimp fishery should stay shut down for at least another year.
The shrimp fishery has been closed since the end of 2013 because of low shrimp populations. Scientists say warming ocean temperatures off New England are inhospitable for the shrimp.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission says a scientific committee that studies shrimp reports that the species still faces “poor prospects for the near future.” The committee is recommending the commission extend the moratorium on fishing for the shrimp through 2017.
An arm of the Atlantic States that deals with Maine shrimp will meet to make a decision about the coming fishing year on Nov. 10 in Portsmouth.
Maine fishermen caught more than 10 million pounds of shrimp as recently as 2011.
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