An online petition is seeking to close the beleaguered Northeast Regional Office of the National Marine Fisheries Service in Gloucester.

It points to remarks by Regional Administrator John Bullard, who said recently, "We set the rules and clearly the rules have failed. There's no other conclusion."

He was at a New England Fishery Management Council meeting, referring to the apparent collapse of cod and yellowtail flounder stocks, and the extreme cutbacks in quota in the fishing year starting May 1.

"We believe that just as there are consequences for failures in business, so too should there be consequences for failures in government," the petition states.

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