Shrimp are winter's Maine attraction

If you like to eat locally harvested food, the pickings are pretty slim right now. But at sea food counters, glistening mounds of tiny, bright coral Maine shrimp outshine just about everything else.

Many chefs, including Tony Maws, like to cook these juicy morsels. The chef-owner of Craigie Street Bistrot is a fan. "They're a lot of fun," says the Cambridge chef. "They taste really sweet." They remind him of Japanese sushi shrimp. The shrimp cost between $9 and $10 per pound shelled (about $6 unshelled), and though that's far more expensive than they are in Maine, where fishermen sell bagfuls for a few dollars, they're still a bargain.

In recent years, Maine shrimp, known as northern shrimp, made only a brief appearance at the fish counter in mid-winter. Regulators at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission had seen the population plummet from 30 million pounds in 1996 to about 10 million pounds in 2000. In response, the regulators kept the fishing season under two months for several years. The population bounced back, and the fisheries commission extended the season to 140 days. Last summer, when scientists did their annual survey in the Gulf of Maine, they found that there were at least 50 million pounds of shrimp, according to Margaret Hunter, shrimp biologist for the state of Maine. The tiny, fresh Maine shrimp should be available until April.

The longer season is good news for local fishermen, but they're not celebrating yet. Peter Kendall, who manages the Portsmouth Fishermen's Coop, explains: "A few years ago, the season was so short that we lost a lot of markets to imports." Farm-raised fish from overseas were flooding the seafood counter. When the fishing season for Maine shrimp was extended last year, the fishermen had trouble selling their catch. This year, there is generally more demand.

The shrimpers are hoping the seasons will stabilize, and so do the scientists who monitor northern shrimp, or Pandalus borealis. The shrimp are sensitive to changes in ocean temperatures and seem to prefer the cold. Scientists think warmer winters may result in fewer shrimp, says Hunter, the biologist, but they're not sure. In addition to their boom-and-bust population cycles, Maine shrimp have another unusual trait: They're hermaphroditic. They spend the first part of their lives as males; at about age 3 1/2, they transform into females and live another 1 1/2 years.

Maws of Craigie Street serves the shrimp in a creamy butter sauce with mushrooms over eggs cooked in ramekins.

If you shun recipes that take more than 15 minutes, try fisherman Peter Kendall's. Bring a potful of seawater to a boil, add the unshelled shrimp, cook 2 minutes, then shell and eat.