CONTACT:
Doug Grout: (603) 868-1095
Jay Martin: (603) 271-3211
November 6, 2018

northernShrimpSpecies[1]
DURHAM, NH — The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department will hold a public hearing and fishery specifications-setting meeting for the northern shrimp fishing season, in conjunction with a meeting of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Northern Shrimp Section, on Friday, November 16, 2018, from 9:00 am to 12:00 p.m. at the Maine Historical Society (2nd Floor Reading Room), 489 Congress Street, Portland, ME.  At this meeting, the Northern Shrimp Section will set 2019 specifications after reviewing the 2018 Stock Status Report, as well as the recommendations from the Technical Committee and Advisory Panel.

For the past five fishing seasons (2014-2018), a moratorium has been in place for the Gulf of Maine northern shrimp fishery, based on the status of the resource, which has been at record low levels of abundance.

The Section is also scheduled to take final action on Draft Addendum I to the Northern Shrimp Fishery Management Plan at the meeting.  The Draft Addendum proposes providing states the authority to allocate their state-specific quota between gear types in the event the fishery reopens.

Meeting materials will be available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/meeting-archive by November 9.  For more information, contact Megan Ware, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mware@asmfc.org or (703) 842-0740; or call the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s Marine Fisheries Division at (603) 868-1095.

Directions to the Maine Historical Society’s Reading Room, 489 Congress Street, Portland: From Portsmouth Traffic Circle, take I-95 N. Take Exit 44 to I-295N, then Exit 6A/Forest Ave. Turn left onto Congress Street.

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s Marine Fisheries Division works closely with other states and federal agencies to protect and maintain marine resources for both commercial and recreational fisheries.  Learn more at www.fishnh.com/marine.