The recreational fishery for a species of fish that has experienced population collapse in recent history could reopen.
Recreational fishing for Atlantic cod has not been allowed in the Gulf of Maine recently due to concerns about the decline in the fish's population. But the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the fish could withstand a very limited fishery at the moment.
Federal regulators are considering a proposal to allow recreational fishermen to catch one Gulf of Maine cod per day during two limited seasons that last 15 days each in September and April. The Gulf of Maine is a body of water off Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire that once teemed with cod, which is the namesake of Cape Cod.
The National Marine Fisheries Service is collecting public comment on the change until May 28.
(This AP story was corrected May 16 with information on the proposed cod catch per day in the Gulf of Maine.)
