Decision Coming On Whether To Keep Maine Shrimpers Shut Down

PORTLAND, Maine - Fishing regulators will decide in November whether it's time to reopen Maine's shuttered shrimp fishery.
 
An arm of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission plans to meet on Nov. 29 in Portland to determine specifications for the 2018 fishing year. The fishery was shut down in 2013 amid concerns about poor reproduction and declining population.
 
The shrimp have been largely unavailable to American consumers since the shutdown, though they are also harvested by Canadian fishermen. They were a popular winter seafood item before the fishery was closed. Fishermen also formerly brought some to land in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
 
Scientists say environmental conditions have been inhospitable for the shrimp off of New England.