WASHINGTON – Federal officials Thursday put on hold a proposed revision of regulations aimed at preventing overfishing, which had been criticized by environmentalists who said they would weaken existing protections for depleted species.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it would spend the next year gauging the environmental impact of the new guidelines – known as National Standard 1 – that the agency unveiled in June. During the public comment period that ended in late October, more than 250,000 people wrote the agency, and according to NOAA spokeswoman Susan Buchanan, most of the comments were negative.

“We want to end overfishing more quickly than the current law allows. We’re not reassessing or retracting our proposal at all,” Buchanan said. “This will provide [the public] with another opportunity to update these regulations.”

Buchanan noted the current guidelines have not been revised in eight years and in some instances are vague, instructing officials to end overfishing “as soon as possible” after taking into account how such a policy would affect the local community.

NOAA’s proposal aims to guide the local and regional fishery councils that set rules to prevent overfishing and help rebuild stocks around the country.