Quebec shrimp fishery facing climate change, tough economy [Video]

For years, the northern shrimp fished in the Quebec waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence have been known as “crevettes de Matane,” named after the town where much of the province’s harvest has been processed since the 1960s.

But after the owners of the town’s processing plant announced its closure this week, there’s fear that it’s not only the Matane shrimp that are on their way out, but the Quebec shrimp fishery as a whole.

Patrice Element, director of the shrimp industry group Office des pêcheurs de crevette du Québec, said it’s hard to be surprised by the closure. Over the years, temperatures in the gulf have been rising, causing shrimp stocks to plummet and making conditions more favorable for fish species that eat them, he said.

“It’s more than a worry. It’s a quasi-certainty that if it continues to decline like last year, it’s the end, especially with …