New England’s decades-old shrimp fishery, a victim of climate change, to remain closed indefinitely

By PATRICK WHITTLE
Associated Press

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Regulators voted on Friday that New England’s long-shuttered shrimp business, which fell victim to warming waters, will remain in a fishing moratorium indefinitely. The shrimping business was based mostly in Maine and produced small, pink shrimp that were a winter delicacy in New England and across the country. The industry has been in a moratorium since 2013 in large part because environmental conditions off New England are unfavorable for the cold water-loving shrimp. Previous extensions of the shrimp fishing moratorium have been for one year or three years at a time. The warming of the Gulf of Maine is an ongoing subject of scientific study.