FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2012, file photo, northern shrimp lie in a pile aboard a trawler in the Gulf of Maine. New England shrimp, long lost from the marketplace as waters have warmed, will come back to seafood counters in small amounts next year due to a research fishing program.
That moratorium is going to remain in place as the shrimp population has failed to improve, according to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. Yet because the regulatory body said there is interest in collecting data about the shrimp, this coming winter there will be a fishing industry-funded winter sampling program for them.
“The sampling program is intended to run early in the new year from mid/late January through March 2025. Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts are currently working together to finalize the logistics of the program including the start date,” said Chelsea Tuohy, a fishery management plan coordinator with the commission, on Tuesday.