PORTLAND, Maine — The New England shrimp, which has been absent from seafood markets for quite some time due to rising sea temperatures, is set to make a modest return to grocery shelves next year as part of a research fishing initiative.
Known also as Maine shrimp or northern shrimp, these small pink crustaceans were once a winter favorite among seafood enthusiasts. However, over the past decade, a moratorium has been imposed on fishing for this species because of concerns regarding dwindling population numbers. Scientists attribute this decline primarily to climate change and the warming of ocean waters.
Despite ongoing concerns for the shrimp population, the moratorium will continue, as the numbers have not shown significant recovery. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has noted that interest remains in gathering more data on the shrimp, prompting the introduction of a fishing industry-funded sampling program this upcoming winter.
This program will permit fishermen to catch up to 58,400 pounds (approximately 26,490 kilograms) of shrimp this season. This amount is significantly lower than the peak years during the early 2010s, when catches exceeded 10 million pounds (around 4.5 million kilograms) annually. Nonetheless, the initiative aims to collect crucial information to better assess the shrimp’s population status while allowing a limited amount of harvesting, according to the commission.
According to Chelsea Tuohy, a coordinator for fishery management with the commission, “The sampling program is slated to begin in early January and will continue through March 2025. Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts are collaborating to finalize the program’s logistics, including determining the start date.”
Historically, fishermen have sought these cold-water shrimp in the Gulf of Maine, an area that has experienced considerable increases in water temperature in recent years. The commission has reported that recent scientific findings indicate “no improvement in stock status” for the shrimp, describing the Gulf of Maine as “an increasingly inhospitable environment” for this particular species.
