Every year, negotiators decide how much each nation can pull up in a rich section of the Georges Bank fishing grounds that includes both U.S. and Canadian waters. The new law allows the U.S. to deal with Canada without being held to the tight 10-year timeline to rebuild the fish stocks, which applies in all other American waters.

Without the pressure of that timeline, Canada can allow its fishermen to catch more of a given species in a given year. The change evens things out, lawmakers said.

"For too long, our fishery managers have been placed at a competitive disadvantage in negotiating catch limits with their Canadian counterparts because of an erroneous interpretation of the law," said Sen. Olympia Snowe, a Maine Republican, who led the push for passage of the law with Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Barney Frank.

Fishermen are hoping the change will lead to a quick increase in what they say is an unnecessarily low catch limit for yellowtail flounder. That low limit threatens the entire industry, they say, because new rules shut down fishing on all species once the catch limit on even one species is reached.

"Knowing that they have more yellowtail would keep (fishermen) more at ease fishing out in the ocean, (knowing) if they do come across yellowtail they won't be shut down," said Richie Canastra of Whaling City Seafood Display Auction in New Bedford.

Read the complete story by Jay Lindsay of The AP at The Boston Globe.