RYE HARBOR - It is a chilly, quiet Friday night at Rye Harbor. The dozen or so people gathered wear heavy jackets and winter hats and hold five-gallon buckets and coolers. A buzz of excitement stirs the silence as the F/V Rimrack is heard; it glides up to the pier, loaded down with bright pink Northern shrimp.

It is this tiny Gulf of Maine delicacy that has drawn the small crowd — some from as far north as Conway and as far west as Auburn.

Padi and Mike Anderson have been offering direct-to-consumer shrimp from the F/V Rimrack for about four years. Padi Anderson said the small, sweet shrimp are New England's “best-kept secret,” but she does not want it to be a secret anymore.

Neither does Carolyn Eastman, who until September 2011 ran Eastman's Fish Market with her husband, Eddie, and operated a Community Supported Fishery.

“We loved it. We grew every year, we loved the relationships and the educational side of helping people understand the industry and what is local fish, how to prepare it — there were so many positives,” Carolyn Eastman said. “The downside is there are so many expenses.”

They have since followed the Andersons' lead, and do direct-to-consumer shrimp and lobster sales from their boat “Sweet Carolyn” in Seabrook.

This past summer, lobster sales off the boat did extremely well, she said.

The shrimp season only began on Jan. 2. It is a short season in a good year, running from December to February, depending on conditions and quota. This year, the quota handed out to fishermen in New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is small, and they are only allowed to fish on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

But that could all change the next time the ASMFC meets on Jan. 19; Padi Anderson said they hope to shrimp into February.

Both Carolyn Eastman and Padi Anderson keep their respective blogs, websites and Facebook pages updated with information about landing times, as well as tips on how to peel, freeze and cook shrimp “Bubba Gump style.”

Anderson said more consumers are coming down to the docks as word spreads, especially as people gain awareness of the plight of New Hampshire fishermen who face debilitating federal regulation changes. A new partnership with the New Hampshire Institute of Agriculture and Farming will also allow more local shrimp to get to local consumers who cannot make it to the docks, including businesses and restaurants.

NHIAF is a nonprofit founded by Suzanne Brown in 2009 to help the state's small farmers.

As the winter is a slow time for farming, the group reached out to help fishermen.

On a recent Friday, Brown picked up 500 pounds of shrimp from F/V Rimrack to be distributed to towns as far north as Westmoreland and Colebrook.

“It is absolutely phenomenal because not everyone has the ability or the means or the access to come to the Seacoast,” Anderson said. “It is a great start for a great model.”

Brown said if all goes well with the shrimp, the plan is to look into similar delivery methods for lobster, scallops and ground fish.

“It is a great time of year for our farmers who are not as busy in winter to get involved in shrimp,” Anderson said. “It's a work in progress, but it's a very exciting, innovative idea that we can grow.”

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For more information, including updated information about landing times for shrimp this season, visit www.rimrackfish. com and www.eastmansfishnh.com.