Ponderings of a Scientist

This year’s Northern shrimp (i.e. those little pink shrimp from the Gulf of Maine) commercial fishing season will be over 100 days long.  It starts December 1st and runs through April.  So it your a fan of shrimp, buy them this winter, they will be cheap, local, and nature (not grown in an Asian shrimp farm).  This industry has been through a lot of late, including seasons as short as 25 days in the early 2000s, so the on-land infrastructure is lacking, thus making it difficult for fishermen to sell the shrimp and/or get a fair price.  So do your part to buy local and eat well.

I should also mention, this industry uses neat trawls that use grates and other seperation gear to minimize bycatch of groundfish, sea turtles, and other non-target species.

Apparently some Mexican fishermen were just rescued from sea after 3-11 months. They were picked up in Taiwan and communication difficulties have prevented more details from coming forth. This could be a new record for days at sea in a survival situation (currently it’s ~150 days); stay tuned for more detail…