Shrimp Again

by Dennis Damon

Fishermen's Voice Photo

“We’ll have to suck it up next year because we are obviously over our limit.” Those words, prophetic and haunting, were spoken last February by one of the members of the Northern Shrimp Section of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) after he had seconded a motion to continue fishing for another 10 days even though the Technical Committee (TC) reported the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) had been reached. It was reported to the Northern Shrimp Section members by the Technical Committee during a conference call on February 18, 2010, that the quota had likely been exceeded.

The mandatory reports from the dealers and others verifying the amount of shrimp landed were not as timely last year as they are going to be this year. When all the landings reports were finally received and tabulated it was revealed the fishermen from Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine had landed just under 6500 metric tons of Northern Shrimp. Each year the marine scientists determine the amount of shrimp that can be reasonably caught and still have the shrimp population remain sustainable. The Commissioners generally agree with the science and set the season accordingly. The catch limit for last year’s shrimp season was 4000 metric tons.

We overfished the shrimp last year by 48 percent. The year before that, for various reasons, we over fished the shrimp by 28 percent. In both years we, the ASMFC Northern Shrimp Section Commissioners, (of which I am one) closed the shrimp fishing season before it was scheduled to end. Closing the season before it is scheduled to end is a major inconvenience to fishermen and to shrimp processing and wholesaling companies. The commissioners understand that, and I think that consideration is some of the reason why we have lacked the will to take the actions necessary to prevent overfishing. Another major reason contributing to our failure to prevent overfishing is the lag time between when the shrimp are caught and when they are reported as caught. In most instances dealer reports were only required on a monthly basis. This year we are requiring mandatory weekly reports.

At the recent meeting of the Northern Shrimp Section held in Portsmouth, NH, both the upcoming season start date and the TAC were set. The TC provided the Section with their best estimate of the total shrimp biomass in the Gulf of Maine. The Gulf of Maine is the southernmost limit of the range of the Northern Shrimp. In waters south of us the temperature is too warm for the Northern Shrimp. Temperature, you see, is another key factor in the life, and propagation of the shrimp. The gradual increase in the sea water temperature is something in which we may have a part to play but it is not something that we can influence quickly.

The TC gathers the data necessary for it to make estimates of total shrimp biomass and the total allowable catch. Dockside samples of the catch are taken when the boats come in from fishing. Trawl surveys are conducted throughout the Gulf of Maine. Shrimp are counted, weighed and measured. They have their age determined and their sex determined, too. They are scrutinized to see if they are growing at the rate they should be. Their egg masses are evaluated. Everything the scientists need to know about the shrimp they find out. Then all the information gathered from these efforts is fed into computer models. The models analyze those data and the results are presented to the commissioners by the TC with their recommendation for the TAC that when harvested will enable the shrimp population to sustain itself. Sustainability is that fine balance we try to achieve in fisheries management. Sustainability is catching all you can while at the same time not catching so many that the population cannot regenerate annually to that same level. Very tricky stuff.

Before your eyes glaze completely over, I will tell you that Northern Shrimp only live 4 to 5 years. They are all born male, at approximately age 2-plus they become mature females capable of producing eggs. It is in these animals that the shrimp future lies. They are a key to sustainability. It is also these animals that we harvest. They are the ones we eat. The younger males are too small. It occurs to me that sustainability should perhaps be defined as, “having our shrimp and eating them too!” Again, very tricky stuff.

“Next year” is here. Because of the overfishing that has occurred in the past two years and because of the information gathered and analyzed by the TC, the Northern Shrimp Section voted to set the 2012 catch at 2,000 mt. If we had not caught those additional shrimp last year would we be allowed to catch them this season? Presumably the answer to that question is, ‘yes.’ Those approximately 2,000 mt we overfished last year would have been added to the 2000 mt we have established for the TAC this year and together they would have provided another 4000 mt season. Actually, the TAC this year could have been higher than that because when you consider the number of excess shrimp caught last year were smaller once the TAC had been reached and they would have each grown to a larger size animal to be caught this year, the TAC in pounds might actually have been greater than 4000 mt. Oh, when will we realize that sometimes it is more beneficial to save some for later rather than to see how many we can catch now?

The 2012 season will start on January 2 for trawlers. Trawlers will only be permitted to land shrimp three days during the week. Landing days are intended to be fishing days too. On February 1, trap fishermen will be able to start fishing for shrimp. Trappers will be limited to 1000 pounds per vessel per day. The season will close when landings reach 95 percent of the TAC. The Section will assess the pace of the fishery regularly during the season and may adjust the closing date or otherwise modify the fishing rules to prevent overfishing.

It is encouraging that it seems to me we have built in some reasonable controls that will prevent overfishing of the shrimp this season. It is discouraging to me that in spite of our efforts overfishing had occurred in each of the last two seasons. And it is very disappointing to me that because of the volatile reduction in the TAC it is likely the fishermen in Down East Maine will not get an opportunity to catch shrimp this year unless they, “… move to Portland.” Very tricky stuff, but it doesn’t have to be.