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Public May Have Say On Plan for Future of Maine Shrimp

PORTLAND, Maine - Interstate fishing regulators are getting ready to vote on whether to send a plan about the future of the imperiled Maine shrimp fishery to the public.

Regulators shut down the fishery in 2013 amid declining populations of shrimp, and say environmental conditions off New England are poor for the recovery of the stock. Scientists say warming ocean temperature is one factor holding them back.

An arm of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has been working on a plan to try to make the fishery more sustainable in the long term, and more suited to the shrimp population size. It includes options such as changing the way the quota system is managed.

Regulators are scheduled to vote Thursday in Portland about whether to send the proposal out for public comment.