New England’s shrimp fishery will be managed differently if it ever reopens.
Fishermen haven’t been allowed to catch Maine shrimp since 2013. But the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission approved a new set of restrictions for the fishery Thursday in the event it does one day reopen.
Fishermen used to catch the shrimp in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The new restrictions include a requirement that shrimp trawlers use new gear to minimize the catch of small shrimp. There would also be maximum fishing season lengths, penalties for states that exceed quotas and a new state-by-state allocation program.
An arm of the commission is set to vote Nov. 29 on whether the fishery can reopen next year.
The moratorium came about because of concerns about environmental changes and poor reproduction.
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