PORTLAND, Maine — A ban on shrimp fishing in New England will continue for at least three more years.

Regulators of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission made the decision Thursday.

Off the coast of Maine, fishermen used to catch millions of pounds of shrimp a year, but for more than a decade the industry has been shut down due to declining shrimp populations.

Earlier this year, to see if the species is recovering at all, several fishermen were allowed to catch a small number of shrimp in the Gulf of Maine as part of a data collection program.

They could harvest up to 58,000 pounds of shrimp. But in the end, the fishermen caught less than three pounds, totaling only 70 shrimp.

“Although we've had this moratorium since 2014 and there's been no fishing on the population, ther

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