Agency closes part of Georges Bank to ground fishing

In an effort to prevent exceeding cod fish catch quotas part of Georges Bank will be closed to the taking of ground fish beginning today.
The move by NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service comes after projections that 90 percent of the cod quota has been caught for the Eastern U.S./Canada Management Area on Georges Bank.
Both kept and discarded fish are included in counting the quota that is set each year before the fishing season and unless new data revises these projections, the fishing grounds will not be reopened until 2006. [orb pub The Cape Codder, by M. Belson]