Federal regulators cancel Maine's shrimp season for second straight year over low population
The commercial fishing season for northern shrimp in the Gulf of Maine has been canceled for a second straight year by regulators citing a declining population.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Northern Shrimp Section voted Wednesday to cancel next year's season.
The section closed this year's shrimp season for the first time in more than 30 years. A technical committee that advises the section recommended extending the moratorium.
A report by the committee says the "depleted condition of the resource and poor prospects for the near future" warrant another closure. The report blames rising ocean temperature for the decline. Regulators say the fishery's estimated population fell dramatically from 2011 to 2013.
Some fishermen opposed closure because shrimp are a source of winter money.