Northern shrimp in a pile aboard a trawler in the Gulf of Maine in January 2012, a year before regulators banned shrimping because of population declines. AP Photo/Robert Bukaty, file

The Maine Department of Marine resources has selected seven fishermen to go shrimping next month.

It’s a rare opportunity – the first time in 10 years that any northern shrimp have been caught and sold in Maine.

Federal regulators are launching the program while they consider changing rules that, if passed, will explore the viability of the shrimp fishery’s future more intensively than they have in a decade. But this pilot program isn’t an indication that the fishery will reopen in the near future – or, perhaps, ever.

Maine’s winter-time northern shrimp fishery was long one of the state’s most important. At the fishery’s height in 1996, shrimpers raked in $12 million with nearly 18 million pounds of catch. But landings – the weight and value of what’s caught – dropped drastically in 2013. Research has found that climate change and warming waters in the Gulf of Maine have hit the shrimp population hard, leading to the smallest population since 1984. That’s why regulators significantly slashed fishing quotas in 2013. Later that year, the regulatory Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission ultimately voted to put the fishery under a moratorium to preserve the population. That moratorium has since been extended year after year.

Just weeks after regulators again ruled the fishery would remain closed indefinitely, in December 2023, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and the Maine Department of Marine Resources announced they were calling on industry members to help lead the pilot program.

“The purpose of this research project is to collect northern shrimp samples similar to those that would be collected from commercial fishing catches if there was a fishery,” the Department of Marine Resources said in a press release.

To be eligible, fishermen needed to have another commercial fishing license, expertise on shrimping and have shrimped for at least two years. The department selected participants based on their experience, compliance with state fishing regulations and different gear they have that could help track fishing activity. The fishermen also needed to be willing to pay for their fishing themselves – it will not be funded by the commission or state.

Lulu Bates, a marine resource scientist working the state, said 40 people submitted applications. Seven fishermen in South Bristol, Portland, Port Clyde and Pemaquid were selected. Three will fish with traps and the other four will use trawls, or nets towed behind boats.

“The reaction has largely been one of excitement and enthusiasm,” Bates said. “We have a great group of fishermen who are ready to get out and collect some data on northern shrimp in the Gulf of Maine, and we’re excited to have them involved in the data collection.”

David Osier, a former shrimper who is now a ground fisherman in South Bristol, stepped forward for what he considered a rare and unique opportunity where his expertise is valued. Osier also owns a wharf in South Bristol, where he remembers shrimp once moving across the dock all winter.

“Now we’re finally bringing shrimp back,” he said. “It’s gonna be nice, just like the old days. Except instead of eight boats, it’ll be one.”

Chelsea Tuohy, chair of the commission’s Northern Shrimp Plan Development Team, said starting in February, the fishermen will go shrimping once a week. They’ll be allowed to catch up to 1,200 pounds on each trip – and sell their catch. The fishermen will have a collective cap of 58,400 pounds by the end of the winter.

State Rep. Allison Hepler, D-Woolwich, said it’s an exciting opportunity for scientists to follow the lead of actual fishermen.

“Shrimp fishermen consistently said ‘we think shrimp are out there, and we want to help,'” said Hepler, who also chairs the Legislature’s Marine Resources Committee.

And as an added bonus, Osier and Hepler anticipate the rare shrimp will sell for a pretty penny.

“I think it’s going to be the highest shrimp price ever. The boat price could be $10 to $12 a pound, if we get the whole quota – and I think we’re going to find them,” Osier said.

Meanwhile, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is considering new rules that, in theory, would prompt the process of reopening the fishery. It proposed triggering full stock assessments if the shrimp population grows – based on data collected by fishermen – or if Gulf of Maine waters cool for three years in a row. A full stock assessment is the middle step to authorizing commercial shrimping.

Trends show that Gulf of Maine waters are only projected to continue warming, making the fishery’s viability unlikely. But if those trends reverse, the commission would know what it needs to do to get shrimping back on track.