PORTLAND — Shrimp fishermen are casting their nets with the start of New England’s shrimp-fishing season.
The season got under way Wednesday, but isn’t expected to last long with a quota of only 1.4 million pounds, down sharply from last year’s catch of 5.3 million pounds.
Net fishermen this winter have a quota of 1.2 million pounds and can fish only two days a week.
Trap fishermen can begin pulling their shrimp traps on Feb. 5. They have a quota of 200,000 pounds.
Shrimp fishing provides a small but important winter fishery. Maine boats account for about 90 percent of the catch, with New Hampshire and Massachusetts boats catching the rest.
Scientists recommended a low quota this year because the shrimp population is in poor shape due to environmental conditions.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.