Maine Pink Shrimp

Unlike imported shrimp, wild-caught U.S. shrimp is unlikely to contain the drugs and chemicals that are used heavily in many international shrimp farms.  Maine pink shrimp, also known as Northern shrimp, is found in the cold waters of the northern Atlantic, and in the U.S. from Massachusetts to Maine.  Maine pink shrimp mature relatively quickly, and so are believed to be resilient to fishing pressure.  They are abundant, and carefully managed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which requires an annual stock assessment to monitor stock size before setting yearly catch limit recommendations. Maine pink shrimp are caught using bottom otter trawls, and less frequently, using traps.  Although bottom otter trawls in other fisheries can be damaging to the seafloor and organisms living there, the trawl device used in the Northern shrimp fishery is smaller, and therefore is associated with less negative impacts.

Furthermore, fishing usually takes place over sand or mud-bottom habitats, which are more resilient than other sea floor habitats.  Additionally, although trawls typically can result in high levels of bycatch (unintended capture of many other types of marine life), the use of a selector device known as a Nordmøre grate has reduced bycatch substantially, to less than 5% of total catch in some cases.  The fishery is of high regional socioeconomic importance, with more than 200 vessels fishing for shrimp in waters off Maine, and it is believed to contribute $10 million annually to the Gulf of Maine coastal economy.