Making a living off the sea is a very tough way of life, as any fisherman could tell you. The hours are long, the gear expensive, the rules and regulations many, the working environment unpredictable ”“ and sometimes dangerous ”“ and there are never any guarantees.
A fishery shutdown is easily the worst aspect of the fishing industry, removing any chance of building a livelihood from hauling those traps, nets or lines. That’s precisely what’s happened this year, as the shrimp season was shut down for the upcoming winter season, per a decision made last week by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. It had to be done, of course, to help the shrimp stocks rebuild so the population is not completely over-fished and decimated. A shrimp index taken this past summer showed that the stocks are at their lowest since the survey began in 1984. This is the first time in 20 years that the fishery has been shut down.
Knowing that it’s an ecological necessity doesn’t make it any easier, though, for those who depend on shrimping to put food on their own table. According to a recent Associated Press report, there are hundreds of fishermen in New England going after the shrimp, and in the Gulf of Maine, 85-90 percent of those are Mainers. Our thoughts go out to them during this time of hardship in the industry, and hopefully those who need to find temporary work in other fields during this shutdown will have success in doing so.
While it’s a trying time for those families that depend on the fishery, the shortage of shrimp is concerning on a much wider scale. Scientists are saying that the fishery has collapsed due to warming ocean temperatures, which have altered the food chain, as well as over-fishing and increased predation. Warming oceans have been linked to climate change, and many scientists believe our continually increasing emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants are major contributors to this phenomenon. It’s gotten to the point that simply buying more fuel-efficient cars or turning off unnecessary lights isn’t going to cut it anymore, and with the political will to make major changes in energy policy clearly lacking, there seems little hope for reducing humanity’s impact in warming the Earth and results such as this collapse.
As for over-fishing, regulation is clearly the answer, and some serious scientific investigation needs to be made to determine what the sustainable level of fishing for shrimp can be, so that this does not happen again. In the past, reports show that shrimpers have actually pulled fewer shrimp than allowed, but the collapse still happened, so better research is needed to set the policy. If age and/or sex can be determined for shrimp so that females and other young breeders can be thrown back, a la the successful lobster fishing regulations, perhaps those regulations could be pursued, but that may not be feasible for this fishery.
Federal aid may be available to those who make their living from shrimp harvesting if a federal fishery disaster is proclaimed, but that process has yet to get under way, and with the situation in Washington, we hope local fishermen aren’t banking on such aid. In the meantime, while the fishery is shut down, they are losing progress on the marketing and promotion they have done for Gulf of Maine shrimp ”“ just another setback in what has been a bust and boom industry. According to the Associated Press report, the shrimp harvest averaged about 25 million pounds a year from 1969-72 before falling to under 1 million pounds in 1977, and the fishery was closed a year later. In the late 1990s and early last decade, there were also down cycles when the industry lost customers.
The average Mainer can help by contacting their federal representatives to support measures that address climate change, and to urge federal aid for these fishermen. The most important action to help out these Maine shrimp harvesters, however, will be to purchase their product once the fishery is open again, and insist that the restaurants and grocery stores we patronize offer locally caught shrimp whenever it is available.
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Today’s editorial was written by Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski on behalf of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Kristen by calling 282-1535, ext. 322, or via email at kristenm@journaltribune.com.
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