PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s shrimp industry is preparing for another year in which the fishery is shut down because of concerns about the impact of a warming ocean on the crustaceans.
Maine shrimp are fished in the Gulf of Maine and were a popular winter seafood for years. Regulators shut the fishery down after a collapse during the 2013 fishing season, and it remained closed since.
A regulatory board is set to decide on whether fishing will be allowed this year on Nov. 10. A committee of scientists has advised the board that it’s not a good idea. The shrimp have struggled to rebuild as waters have warmed.
Spencer Fuller of Cozy Harbor Seafood says his company was once the largest processor of Maine shrimp in the country and has suffered since the closure.