PORTLAND – The recent closure of a prized fishing area near the Canadian border is drawing industry criticism.

Ordered to prevent overfishing of yellowtail flounder and uphold a resource-sharing agreement with Canada, the Oct. 1 closure covers hundreds of square miles on Georges Bank.

Closure was envisioned when catch numbers approached strict limits, according to Teri Frady of the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Industry advocates say haddock in the closed area would be valuable for struggling fishermen.

“That’s fish left in the water. That’s money left in the water. That’s jobs and processing we’re not going to have,” said Hank Soule, general manager of the Portland Fish Exchange.

Soule said the closure will cost the exchange an estimated 2 million pounds of haddock this winter.

Last week, Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins called on the National Marine Fisheries Service to reopen the area, as did the chairman of the New England Fishery Management Council, Frank Blount.

Blount suggested that fishing boats could be allowed to return to the area using a special net that traps haddock while releasing flounder and cod.

Roger Fleming, an attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation, said the industry has not proven that the special net works and that strict catch limits will promote conservation.

“This is going to prevent overfishing on yellowtail,” he said. “And when the government demonstrates that it’s going to stop the fishery before there’s overfishing, it’s going to create an incentive for everyone … to improve the management of the fishery.”

Catch limits were spelled out in rules known as Amendment 13.

“I think there are more creative solutions to this problem than just shutting the area down,” said Maggie Raymond, co-owner of a Portland-based fishing boat and a spokeswoman for the Associated Fisheries of Maine industry group.