Southwest Harbor - Shrimp Fishermen are used to spending their winters on the open water, but recently many of these boats have been docked.

Fisherman David Horner has spent 37 winters catching shrimp, but he says over the past two years, things have changed.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and the Department of Marine Resources have put limits on the shrimp industry. When the season started on January 23rd, boats could only go out on Monday and Wednesday's - regardless of the weather.

Horner said that is a huge safety issue for the fisherman. "You have to take chances you wouldn't normally take. I don't know how that helps the resources, it puts us in jeopardy, that's all."

As of Thursday, the Commission has changed those limits. Northern Shrimp Section Chair, Terry Stockwell said "The trawl days will now be Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday started next week."

But the problem isn't just at sea, it's starting to come ashore.

General Manager of Beal's Lobster, Rob Bauer said "We've had to layoff a couple of people. Last year, we landed over 60,000 lbs., so far, we've landed 1,200 lbs."

The General Manager believes another issue is the lack of shrimp. He thinks it's something that will start affecting many seafood lovers. "For Maine people it's always been an affordable product. It's been a great source of protein. It's always been reasonably priced, but now it's getting pretty expensive," said Bauer.

Bauer thinks shrimp could cost almost $10/lb this summer. Which makes fisherman hesitant to shrimp and restaurants apprehensive to buy the shrimp from Maine waters.

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