Fishery regulators are expanding Maine's shrimp season to seven days a week until the season closes on April 12 because the catch has been so low.
Trawlers were limited to four days a week and trap fishermen to six days, but those limits will be erased next week. The Portland Press Herald says the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission also eliminated the 500-pound daily catch limit for trappers.
Regulators cut the shrimp quota to 1.38 million pounds because of concerns about the population but the shrimp are proving elusive.
Maggie Hunter of the Maine Department of Marine Resources tells WCSH-TV that warm water is part of the problem. She says the northern shrimp are a cold water species, and the Gulf of Maine is the southern edge of their range.
Add your Comments