Tag Archives: Gulf of Maine shrimp
Hearing on new shrimp rules draws tiny crowd in Ellsworth
Fishermen barely outnumbered representatives of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission last Thursday at a public hearing in City Hall on proposed rule changes that would reshape shrimp fishing in the Gulf of Maine. Three fishermen — John Williams and Ricky Trundy, both of Stonington, and James West of Sorrento — offered comments on a proposed amendment to the ASMFC fisheries management plan for northern shrimp. Department of Marine Resources External Affairs Director Terry Stockwell and Resource Management Coordinator Trisha Cheney dutifully recorded those comments on behalf of the ASMFC. Although a somewhat larger crowd was on hand for a hearing the previous evening in Augusta, the sparse audience reflected the state of the fishery from Downeast waters. click here to read the story 12:34
Commission likely to keep Gulf of Maine shrimp fishery closed
A board of the regulatory Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is set to decide Thursday whether fishing will be allowed this year. A committee of scientists has advised the board it’s not a good idea, with temperatures off New England inhospitable to the shrimp. Spencer Fuller, a shrimp and lobster buyer with Cozy Harbor Seafood in Portland, said his company was once the largest processor of Maine shrimp in the country, and it has suffered. He said that he is prepared for another year of closure, but that it will send residual troubles through Maine’s seafood industry. The commission is also working on a plan for how to manage the fishery if or when reopening happens, Appelman said “If the fishery opens back up again, which we hope it does, we can’t have a free-for-all on all these shrimp,” he said. “This is how to make sure the pressure on this weak population isn’t too much for it to handle right off the bat.” Read the story here 08:05
Future of shrimp fishery debated at Fishermen’s Forum
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. “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.” Read the rest here 20:52
New England shrimp season ends with a whimper
AP – 
PORTLAND — The Gulf of Maine shrimp fishing season is coming to an end with a whimper. The season officially ends at 11:59 p.m. Friday, although boats for the most part stopped fishing weeks ago because of a lack of shrimp in the Gulf of Maine. continued
