Poor fishing, low prices mark Norway's coldwater shrimp season

So far this year, only six Norwegian and nine foreign vessels have fished for coldwater shrimp in the Barents Sea. 

As of July, Norway landed a total of 3,300 metric tons of shrimp -- a staggering 51 percent drop from July last year, when 6,640 metric tons were landed.

"It will be a very weak year for coldwater shrimp," Tor-Edgar Ripman, marketing director of the Norwegian Fishermen's Sales Organization (Norges Rafisklag), told IntraFish sister publication Fiskeribladet. "It's unlikely things will improve."

Lower prices and uncertain availability of coldwater shrimp in the water are the main reasons for the poor season.