Gulf of Maine Shrimp - 2005/2006

[johnnyd]

I'm going to try TimH's New Orleans barbeque shrimp with this bag and see what happens

Okay, this was so delicious I'm going for another round today. I might tweak the recipe a bit. Prices are still stable in the stores but there is no auction to speak of. There is at least five weeks left in the season.

Edited March 4, 2006 by johnnyd (log)

[Timh]

Cool , glad you enjoyed. Quite addictive no?

[johnnyd]

Cool , glad you enjoyed. Quite addictive no?

←

Definitely! I'm adding some fresh sage and a touch of sugar tonight.

[HungryChris]

I too wanted to try TimH's New Orleans barbeque shrimp, and took a trip to the new West Hartford Whole Foods today. They had them but they just didn't have the compelling bright color that I like to see so I had to pass. I hope they work out the processing plant and supply problems because Maine shrimp is a product with great promise for the fishermen and local consumer alike, IMHO.

Cheers,

HC

Edited to change from East to West Hartford, oops!

Edited March 5, 2006 by HungryChris (log)

[johnnyd]

While at the Hannaford Back Bay supermarket last week I made my usual detour to see how the fish counter looked. The pile of maine shrimp was smaller than usual and had a yellowey hue. "Not very appetizing," I thought to myself.

Yesterday, my SoPo Hannaford had no maine shrimp at all. "Lately, we've had to through out two pounds for every one we kept," said the young fishmonger.

And so this year's Fresh Maine Shrimp season limps to an end.

If I find any for sale this week I'll make a farewell feast, hopefully photo-worthy. I plan to make a few calls and see what industry opinion is and ask what should be done about improving demand next year.

[ghostrider]

I haven't seen them in any of my usual haunts down here for a month or so now.

They may still have them over at the big Whole Foods in Edgewater NJ, but that's a 13-mile drive one way with more stoplights than I care to count, i.e., a real PITA to which to get.

It's a depressing business. It was so nice when the shrimps were just over in the next town &/or the town where I work.

[pennbrew]

Now that this bust of a season has ended, have there been any forecasts about the future of the Maine shrimp industry?

---Guy

Edited April 5, 2006 by pennbrew (log)

[johnnyd]

Nothing published about this season yet - it's technically open for another couple of days - but Maine Department of Marine Resources secured two years season dates on the basis of four (five?) years research that told them the stocks were healthier than usual. Hell, the season was only two weeks one year! The shrimp take four years to reach harvest size.

I think the problem is cheap imports of larger species - and lame marketing. Who was that dude who made the Pet Rock a hit? What's his number!?!?

[ghostrider]

Not with a bang, but a whimper.....

As an interested consumer of Maine shrimp, and with the season definitely over, I wish to express my sadness at the way it went into a long and steady decline after January in these parts. This was to have been the Year Of The Shrimp, but it didn't work out as I'd expected. I wasn't even able to hold up my end on the consumption front, thanks to illness & family responsibilities, when the stuff was plentiful, & then came the great slow fizzle. Then when I was back to normal & ready to be an active buyer again, the shrimps had disappeared from the markets.

Here's hoping that next year will be better.

[HungryChris]

I'm thinking that maybe the places that sell them should drop the prices just to get the volume and awareness up. That should get more folks interested in buying them as well as getting the turnover up to the point that fresh product is a given. Let consumer demand dictate the price after public awareness is established, but selling them at $5.99 / lb before demand is established is just a poorly conceived market practice, in my opinion. This is a great product with tremendous potential that has just been handled badly, period!

Cheers,

HC

Edited April 16, 2006 by HungryChris (log)

[johnnyd]

I'm thinking that maybe the places that sell them should drop the prices just to get the volume and awareness up. That should get more folks interested in buying them as well as getting the turnover up to the point that fresh product is a given.

The thing is, they were going for less than a dollar a pound here by the very dock they were off-loaded. It was almost embarrassing. The fishermen eventually just said "forget it! I can't even make back the diesel I use out and back,"

So if you can't get 'em any cheaper - one would think they were a shoo-in for local chefs and retail, which in-turn spreads to other places in New England but no, it didn't happen. I'm beginning to think that they were priced too low where people actually thought they are valueless and not to be trusted, a kind of reverse psychology here. To be fair, the cleaning issue was a turn off to a lot of consumers, so next year, the fish stores should hold "shrimp appreciation days" and teach people to clean 'em fast - cook 'em a couple different ways and generally chat them up - give a free pound to the first fifty people.

[HungryChris]

JD,

Whatever it takes, but you and I both know it will happen at some point, because it should. I remember eating Alaskin King Crab that we bought at the A&P for 69 cents a pound. There just was no demand for the stuff. A lot has changed since then and now I feel guilty for paying $8 / lb for King Crab since becoming addicted to Deadliest Catch. Fresh Maine shrimp will become a much sought after product, it's only a matter of time. The question is, how much time.

Cheers,

HC

[pennbrew]

Any word on the state of the Maine shrimp industry heading into the 2006-2007 season?

Thanks!

---Guy

[johnnyd]

Last year, the press release for the 2005-6 season was issued November 9th.

This press release established the same fishing days for 2006-7...

The 2006 fishing season, which is the same for mobile and trap gear, will be open seven days a week from December 12, 2005, through April 30, 2006.

In view of the pressures on the fishery (and lack of them also) there may be a different schedule in store, but DMR isn't usually flexible on these things.

I'll keep an eye on it and start a new thread soon. TELL YOUR FRIENDS in the restaurants, retailing and consumers to start asking for Fresh Maine Shrimp!