New England fishing catch down sharply

BOSTON (AP) -- New England fishermen and federal data reports are telling the same story this year: The catch is way down.

Two-thirds of the way through the fishing year, fishermen have caught less than half their allotments on 14 of 16 species of bottom-dwelling groundfish. On the key species of Georges Bank cod, for instance, fishermen have caught just over a quarter of their allotment.

The numbers come as regulators agonize over massive cuts to catch quotas in 2013.

Some are questioning whether the cuts would truly be catastrophic, since fishermen aren't catching near their full limits. They say the real problem is the apparent drop in fish populations.

Some fishermen say it's too soon to conclude fish are disappearing. They say market forces, and the fish population cycle, can help explain the lower catches.