"WARWICK, R.I. – A proposal to ban lobster fishing  over a vast stretch of the East Coast was killed Thursday after lobstermen said it would do 'almost biblical' damage to the industry.

The board that advises the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission on lobster rules voted instead to consider lesser reductions in the catch — or no new restrictions at all.

The vote by the American Lobster Management Board came after lobstermen said a possible five-year ban on lobster fishing from south of Cape Cod, Mass., to North Carolina would destroy their businesses just as the species is rebounding."

Jay Lindsay reports for the Associated Press July 22, 2010. [2]