Legislation recently signed by President Obama has paved the way for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to move ahead to increase the Georges Bank yellowtail flounder quota for U.S. commercial fishermen in 2011.
The quota will be increased to 2.5 million pounds, an 18 per cent increase over 2010 levels and a 44 per cent increase over the quota that fishermen originally expected to receive for the 2011 fishing year.
“Rebuilding economically valuable fisheries goes hand-in-hand with protecting fishing jobs and supporting coastal communities, so we made reaching this agreement a priority, because it will allow us to increase the catch limits for valuable groundfish stocks and help fishermen,” Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke said.
The legislation that enabled the agreement was signed by President Obama on 4 January and initiated by U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, U.S. Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, and members of the New England congressional delegation.
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