End of shrimp fishing in September?

Shrimp fishermen are so resigned that the majority of Quebec license holders have not been to sea since the fishing season opened on April 1.

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Faced with poor catches, a company from Ochat on the North Shore decided to store its fishing boat after only 10 days of activity.

Only 8,000 pounds of shrimp were caught by the ship's crew Vikings IIAffiliated to a company in the Ochat Mak Mani Utinam community. The boat is usually at sea until fall, then returns to its winter storage location Wednesday morning.

“There are no more shrimp,” said Benoit Saint-Onge, general manager of Pêcheries Uapan.

“I had to make a decision on a monetary level. The operating costs are very high compared to the little income we made. I made a very difficult decision,” he added.

Captain Vikings IISylvain Bujold is convinced that he will not go out to sea next year.

“It's the end of hunting for me,” he lamented. “It's not viable this year. I think this is the end of the shrimp. As Ms. Lebouthillier says, I don't want to be the fisherman who catches the last shrimp. I'll leave that job to the redfish and groundfish.

Another September shrimp fisherman continues his activities, but has to go to the estuary area because shrimp are rare in the September bank.