NOAA closes 19 percent of Gulf to fishing

[lizbeth]

May 18th, 2010
11:33 AM ET
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Permalink NOAA closes 19 percent of Gulf to fishing
The federal government has shut down fishing in more of the Gulf of Mexico as a result of the massive oil spill there.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has shut down fishing in 19 percent of the Gulf over which the federal government has jurisdiction, NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco said Tuesday.

That's up from 10 percent that NOAA had ordered closed to fishing Monday. The agency had closed 8 percent of that portion of the Gulf under federal jurisdiction Friday.

The expansion to 19 percent means 45,728 square miles is now closed to fishing.