Port Clyde, Maine — Maine's shrimp fishing business is facing some big changes, starting this winter.
The federal agency that regulates shrimp in the Gulf of Maine wants to put new restrictions on how and when shrimp are caught; and possibly restrict who can catch them.
Shrimp populations run in cycles, and fishermen and managers say the fishing business runs the same way. Acting Commissioner of Marine Resources Patrick Keliher says that, in years when there are a lot of shrimp, more people get into the business and that drives prices down. It also can lead to over-harvesting which, historically, has been followed by tight restrictions on the catch. That, in turn, can also drive fishermen and shrimp processors out of the business. Keliher says that sort of boom-to-bust cycle is bad for the people who depend on shrimp for part of their living.
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