NOAA To Allow More Monkfish To Be Caught

Federal fishing regulators are announcing another measure to try to lessen the impact of New England's steep cuts in catch limits.

    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Friday that it's proposing increasing the monkfish catch for certain fishermen who work an area off northern New England. 

    Those fishermen target bottom-dwelling groundfish, such as cod and haddock. They're absorbing potentially disastrous cuts on those species starting May 1, but many also have permits to catch monkfish.

    Regulators say allowing groundfishermen to catch more monkfish in the so-called Northern Fishery Management Area can provide additional revenue as they try to survive the cuts.

    Last week, regulators allowed fishermen to boost their 2013 catch by carrying over a percentage of 2012's unused catch quotas. 

    The coming cuts are so deep, however, the impact of such measures is unclear. (Associated Press)