Shrimp Quota Slashed 72%
by Laurie Schreiber
PORTLAND – Interstate regulators set aside the idea of a moratorium on shrimp fishing for the 2013 fishing season.
But shrimp fishermen in Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire face drastic cuts to their catch quota.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Northern Shrimp Section approved a total allowable catch (TAC) of 625 metric tons (mt) for 2013, representing a 72 percent reduction from last year’s quota.
The TAC is further subdivided into a research set aside of 5.44 mt, a trawl fishery TAC of 539.02 mt, and a trap fishery TAC of 80.54 mt.
Each fishery will close when 85 percent of its TAC is projected to be reached and a four-day advance notice will be issued prior to the closure of each fishery.
The trawl fishery will begin on Jan. 23, 2013, with two landing days (Monday and Wednesday) and no trip limit.
The trap fishery will begin on Feb. 5, 2013, with six landing days (every day but Sunday) and an 800-pound trip limit.
According to the ASMFC, the section considered several factors in setting the specifications for the 2013 fishery. These included: the northern shrimp stock is overfished and overfishing has been occurring for the last three years; all abundance surveys are exhibiting a downward trend (since 2007 biomass has steadily declined and is currently at its lowest level); and poor recruitment (shrimp entering into the fishery) in 2010 and 2011.
“Northern shrimp recruitment is related to both spawning biomass and ocean temperatures, with higher spawning biomass and colder temperatures producing stronger recruitment,” the ASMFC said. “Ocean temperatures in the western Gulf of Maine shrimp habitat have been increasing in recent years and have reached or approached unprecedented highs in the past three years. This suggests an increasingly inhospitable environment for northern shrimp and indicates the critical need for protecting spawning biomass.”
In 2012, the TAC was 2,211 metric tons. At the time, that figure was an increase of 211 mt from the 2,000 mt TAC that was originally established for 2012. The increase represented an attempt by regulators to address harvester and processor concerns regarding their ability to maintain markets that had been established over the past few seasons.
The 2012 specifications said that the fishery would be closed when landings were projected to reach 95 percent of the TAC.
The 2011 TAC was 4,000 mt.
The TAC reductions were made in response to significant overages in recent seasons. In 2010, the resource was overharvested by 28 percent, and in 2011 by 48 percent.
In addition, surveys have shown a much lower than normal abundance of large females and juveniles, with the remaining males and females being small for their age.
In early 2012, Section Chair Terry Stockwell cautioned the industry that the section “remains concerned about the projected status of the resource, with below average strength of upcoming year classes, and the potential for restricted seasons in the near future.”
Shrimp fishermen have questioned the accuracy of the science that forced the fishery to close early two years in a row. At one ASMFC hearing, some said that high catch rates could be an indication that there’s plenty of shrimp – more than scientists think. Many said that, regardless of what the statistics show, they supported a “core” fishing season of January, February and March, with April and May optional depending on where the harvest numbers are at the end of March.
“You’ve got some who think it’s total nonsense, and some who’ve been out there fishing and not seen a lot of shrimp and are wiling to give it the benefit of the doubt,” said Glen Libby, shortly after the ASMFC issued the 2013 specifications.
Libby is a co-founder of Port Clyde Fresh Catch, which set up a community-supported fishery for shrimp and groundfish in recent years, and is now expanding its wholesale and retail operation.
“There are some, like me, who’ve been doing it a long time and heard the predictions, and it seems like, more often than not, the predictions are pretty close,” Libby said. “If we go out there and catch all kinds of shrimp, there will be some room for debate. But until that happens, the jury’s out.”
As far as cost to returns, last year’s fishery was not too bad, he said. The price was good and catch rate fairly high.“We didn’t spend lot of time on the water, so we didn’t waste a lot of time on margin fishing,” he said. On the other hand, “We didn’t get rich at it.”
The success of the fishery, he pointed out, is tied to market demand and the ability of processors to match the fishery’s pace.
“If the science is correct, we’ll probably have time to get something put away for the summer season,” he said. “If the science is wrong and there’s more shrimp than we anticipated, we’ll be in trouble because we’ll catch them all quick. Ultimately, the market may control how much effort there is. Ultimately, the thing that’s controlled the amount of shrimp boats has always been markets. When the majority of shrimpers had no market and a handful of us did, there was nobody out there but a few. When the market explodes, it usually leads to a crash in the stock, and then we start over. I think we have to look at all the moving pieces.”
Gulf of Maine northern shrimp landings have seesawed over the years. According to the ASMFC’s Assessment Report for Gulf of Maine Northern Shrimp 2012, released by the ASMFC’s Northern Shrimp Technical Committee (NSTC) on Nov. 21, annual landings declined from an average of 11,400 mt during 1969-1972 to about 400 mt in 1977, culminating in a closure of the fishery in 1978.
The fishery reopened in 1979 and landings increased to over 5,000 mt by 1987. Landings ranged from 2,300 to 4,400 mt during 1988-1994, and then rose dramatically to 9,500 mt in 1996, the highest since 1973.
Landings declined to an average of 1,900 mt for 1999 to 2001, and dropped further in the 25-day 2002 season to 450 mt, the lowest northern shrimp landings since the fishery was closed in 1978.
Landings then increased steadily, averaging 2,100 mt during the 2003 to 2006 seasons, then jumping to 4,900 mt in 2007 and 5,000 mt in 2008.
In 2009, 2,500 mt were landed during a season that was market-limited. The proposed 180-day season for 2010 was cut short to 156 days with 6,140 mt landed, due to the industry exceeding the recommended landings cap for that year, and concerns about small shrimp.
As in 2010, the 2011 season was closed early. The season was scheduled to be 136 days, but was closed after 90 days. A preliminary total of 6,394 mt of shrimp were landed, exceeding the recommended limit of 4,000 mt by approximately 2,400 mt.
In 2012, the season was further restricted by having trawlers begin on Jan. 2 with three landings days per week, and trappers began on Feb. 1 with a 1,000-pound limit per vessel per day. The TAC was set at 2,211 mt and would close when the projected landings reached 95 percent of the TAC. The season was closed on Feb. 17 and trawlers had a 21-day season and trappers had a 17-day season.
Maine landed Maine landed 90 percent of the 2012 season total, New Hampshire followed with 6 percent and Massachusetts landed 3 percent. In the 1980s, Massachusetts accounted for about 30 percent of the catch.
The number of vessels participating in the fishery dropped from a high in 1996 of 347, to an average below 200 vessels during 2002-2007. In 2012, an estimated 306 vessels participated (207 trawl, 99 trap).
According to the report, recruitment of northern shrimp is related to both spawning biomass and ocean temperatures, with higher spawning biomass and colder temperatures producing stronger recruitment.
The report says that “short-term commercial prospects for the 2013 fishing season are very poor given the low abundance of all stages of shrimp in the 2012 survey, the relatively small size of females in the 2011 and 2012 surveys, and the low level of exploitable biomass.”
Longer-term prospects are also poor, the report says.
“Current trends in environmental conditions are not favorable for northern shrimp and may be a factor in the poor recruitment of the 2010 and 2011 year-classes,” the report says.
In the report, the Northern Shrimp Technical Committee recommended a moratorium on fishing in 2013, in order to conserve spawners and/or to allow hatching to take place prior to the fishery to help compensate for what may continue to be an unfavorable environment.
But the ASMFC responded to concerns of fishermen and processors, who depend on the fishery as one part of their diversified businesses.
“Let’s try to make something not as bad out of something bad, and try to spread it out,” said Libby, in summing up the industry consensus.
For more information, contact the ASMFC’s shrimp fishery management plan coordinator Michael Waine, at (703) 842-0740 or mwaine@asmfc.org.