Gulf of Maine shrimpers, including those working out of Gloucester, could learn as early as next week the details on the stock assessment for the upcoming 2013-14 season, with the most recent data still indicating it could be one of the worst seasons in recorded history.
Marin Hawk of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission said Tuesday that the data collected to date reflect continuing recruitment failures that appear to have left the stock at its lowest numbers since the organization began keeping records in 1984.
”We are finishing up the stock assessment update,” Hawk said. “It should be finalized next week.”
The Northern Shrimp Advisory Panel of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission — the multistate body that manages shrimp and other near-shore species — is scheduled to meet Dec. 3 in Portland, Maine, to discuss recommendations for the 2013-14 fishing season. Those will include the stock assessment and recommendations on catch quota and the fishing schedule for the season.
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