American fishermen are losing thousands of pounds of valuable fishing quota under a new catch share agreement with Canada.
Fishermen from the U.S. and Canada seek haddock, cod and flounder on Georges Bank, which is a critical fishing ground east of New England. Under the new agreement, the U.S.'s eastern Georges Bank cod quota is falling by more than 25 percent to about 415,000 pounds and the eastern Georges Bank haddock quota is falling by about 4 percent to about 33 million pounds.
The regulatory New England Fishery Management Council approved the catch share agreement for the 2019 fishing year last week. The council says the quotas are based on historical catches and trawl surveys.
The new quotas face more approvals from the federal Department of Commerce.