NEW BEDFORD — Mayor Jon Mitchell Tuesday urged the organization responsible for setting catch limits for fish species shared between the United States and Canada to negotiate a Georges Bank yellowtail flounder quota for the 2014 fishing year that does not result in further harm to the fishing industry.

In a letter to its members, Mitchell called on the Transboundary Management Guidance Committee to reach a quota of no less than 500 metric tons for Georges Bank yellowtail flounder.

"Georges Bank yellowtail is bycatch for the scallop fishery, which brings in approximately $400 million in direct annual revenue to New Bedford," said the mayor, in a news release Tuesday. "Taking into account the groundfish and scallop fisheries' ancillary businesses, Georges Bank yellowtail is tied to nearly $1.3 billion in annual economic activity in Greater New Bedford."

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