PORTLAND, Maine — The federal government is shutting down the harvest of an important species of fish for the rest of the year because of concerns about overfishing.
Fishermen from Maine to North Carolina commercially harvest Atlantic mackerel, which is used as food as well as bait. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it closed the fishery starting Oct. 15.
NOAA says the most recent assessment of the species found that it is overfished and the level of overfishing has increased slightly.