The shrimp season in Maine, which employs hundreds of fishermen as well as processors and other shoreside employees, will close Feb. 28 at 11:59 p.m. – 46 days ahead of schedule.
According to a Feb. 18 press release from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Northern Shrimp Section, “The decision to close the fishery… was based on preliminary landings data that indicate that harvest is already at 4192 metric tons, 192 metric tons in excess of the Technical Committee recommended landings level.”
The Northern Shrimp Section governs the shrimp season in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. According to its press release, the “overharvest” in the 2010-2011 season could “negatively impact the stock and next year’s fishery.”
