PORTLAND, Maine—Regulators on Friday voted to shut down New England's shrimp season early for the second consecutive season because fishermen surpassed the target set by biologists.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission decided at an emergency meeting to close the fishery on Feb. 28, about six-and-a-half weeks earlier than scheduled. Even with the early closing, the amount of shrimp pulled from the North Atlantic will exceed the 8.8-million pound limit set by scientists.
Because of the decision, hundreds of fishermen will have to tie up their boats earlier than expected and fish processing plants on the mainland will run out of shrimp.
Long-time shrimp fishermen say there are too many fishermen going after the shrimp. That includes groundfishermen whose days at sea have been cut, as well as lobster fishermen.
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