Ebb & Flow: Shrimp proves lifeline to fishermen out of quota

The northern shrimp fishery has never looked better to about six Cape Ann groundfish-quota-starved dragger captains and their crews — and to one skate-starved processor who arrived in town eight years ago,

The shrimp catches and their boat prices have been good so far.

To keep the Gulf of Maine's northern shrimp stock healthy, its governing Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission established a tentative Dec. 1 to April 15 continuous daytime harvesting period that cannot land more than 4,000 metric tons.

This year's season could end early like last year's if that limit is surpassed. Maine fishermen netted or trapped most of the 12 million pounds of shrimp landed last year. Only two Cape Ann draggers briefly shrimped that season.

"We are shrimping because we are out of fish," said Gloucester Capt. Ricky Beal. "We always used to go shrimping, (but) the last time we went was in 1997" added Beal, who crews the 54-foot steel stern trawler, Horizons, with Charlie Reed.

"I don't have any choice (but to go shrimping). I'm just about out of codfish (quota)," added Paul Theriault, the Rockport owner and the Captain of the 42-foot Terminator.

"If I can get till the middle of March (shrimping), I'll be tickled pink," added Theriault, whose Terminator, also crewed by Ryan Osmond, is the only Cape Ann shrimper to work out of Pigeon Cove Harbor.

The northern shrimp numbers and quality are usually at their best in Ipswich Bay and nearby Scantum Basin, during cold Januaries and Februaries. The Cape Ann fleet has been lately working Ipswich Bay where it has often netted approximately 300 pounds of around 55-count (55 shrimp to the pound) shrimp per hour of bottom towing time.

Four- and five-year-old shrimp have been making up the catches' largest size shrimp. The March shrimp in these grounds tend to become fewer and smaller.

Portland, Maine, the hub of shrimp processing, has been paying 80 cents/lb for shrimp, while the four Gloucester shrimp dealers have been buying them for around 60 cents to 70 cents/pound. Last year's shrimp only brought the boats around 50 cents/pound.

The new groundfish sector management, which switched vessels' Days at Sea (DAS) allotments to those of individual fish species' quotas based on 1996-2006 landing histories, has forced many fishing vessels back to the very quilt fishing they used to do, especially before groundfish became available year-round off of Cape Ann.

Quilt fishing involves seasonally working a number of fisheries, including the whiting, shrimp, groundfish, herring, dogfish, lobster or tuna to make a year's pay.

Under the old DAS groundfish management and its 800-pound daily cod limit, most of the inshore fleet dumped quilt fishing to concentrate on cod once they grew in numbers year-round off Cape Ann. Fishing for cod — usually worth three to six or more times a pound than shrimp to the boat — also involves less fishing and deck time than shrimping. Topless trawls and extruder grates have dramatically reduced unwanted by-catch in the small-mesh shrimp fishery today.

The six members of this year's local shrimp fleet were either asked by a dealer to shrimp, or they simply wanted to remain active and fish this winter. All of that has come after they'd either sold their sector groundfish quota or used most or all of it up, and found themselves unable to buy more - especially Gulf of Maine cod quota which has sold for up to $1.50/pound.

The Terminator was one of the small boats that tuna fished on Georges Bank last year. Two of Gloucester's larger trip boat groundfish draggers resorted to shrimping out of Portland, Maine, this winter, while a local herring seiner is putting its dragging gear back on to shrimp out of that Maine port, too.

For a change, much of the locally caught shrimp has remained in town this winter. Zeus Packing Company, that normally relies heavily on skates to stay in the green, is buying shrimp for the first time since it opened its doors at Harbor Loop in 2003 and packing and freezing them whole into 25-lb units for future export to Asia and Europe.

"On a normal Friday this time of year, I would be processing 15,000-20,000 pounds of skates," said Kristian Kristensen, Director of Zeus Packing Company. "I can't process anything else, so I have to process shrimp."

Kristensen and his current workforce of about 12 people hope to get in three months of shrimp processing.

Fear of exceeding the skate yearly landing limit prompted fish regulators to gradually drop a 20,000-pound skate wing trip limit to just 500 pounds.

Fishermen and processors feel the ocean is full of skates, and there's no need to cut the trip limit. U.S. skate processors "... will lose markets before the government wakes up and smells the coffee," Kristensen added.

Cape Ann Fresh Catch has also been offering its 622 local and greater Boston participants some of the locally landed fresh shrimp that's packaged into 5-pound units.

"Ocean Crest Seafood Company (on Commercial Street) lands the seafood, Turner Seafoods (on Smith Street) does the processing and packing, and the Gloucester Fishermen's Wives Association handles the administration and distribution," said Steve Tousignant, the program's outreach coordinator, who also delivers and hands out the seafood.

"People love the shrimp," he added.

Gloucester lobsterman Peter K. Prybot writes regularly for the Times on the fishing industry and other local issues.

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