As federal regulators and regional fisheries managers continue to debate how much time commercial fishermen can spend fishing, the need for a different approach becomes more obvious. That approach should include a strict overall catch limit coupled with a quota system to divide up that catch. This would let fishermen get back on the water when it was economical and safe.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration last week proposed emergency rule to further limit days at sea, the time fishermen can be on the ocean catching fish. The proposed rule would cut groundfishing revenue by about a third, the administration calculated. Larger vessels would be hurt more than smaller ones.

An immediate reduction is necessary, the agency said, because the number of fish is still dropping in New England waters. According to the latest NOAA assessment, the cod population had fallen by 20 percent between 2001 and 2004. The agency also said the yellowtail flounder population had been overestimated by 77 percent.

At a meeting in Portland last month, the New England Fisheries Management Council dealt with this problem by agreeing to an 8 percent reduction in days at sea. In 2004, the council reduced allowable days at sea from 88 to 53.

The council’s plan comes too late for the fishing season which begins May 1, according to NOAA, which issued the emergency rule on Friday and was accepting public comment on it until Monday. Clearly, this is not enough time for serious consideration of alternatives. It also highlights the problems with constant tinkering with a calendar and a map rather than limiting what can be caught.

Limiting the catch makes more sense. Coupling it with a quota system gives fishermen more freedom to decide when to fish, based on prices for different fish species and weather conditions. Quotas are working well in fisheries in other parts of the country and world, but there are strong resistance to them in New England.

Quotas and catch limits are included in an updated version of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, national fishing rules that are now being revised by Congress. The next step is to set up a system of quotas to divide up the allowable catch among fishermen, with consideration given to community cooperatives and small vessels.

The bill currently requires a two-thirds vote among fishermen in New England to enact quotas here. Although a high hurdle, lawmakers and fishermen should realize that existing rules aren’t working and that a new approach is needed.