BOSTON – Several fishing groups will be allowed to have a say in the resolution of a lawsuit brought by conservationists seeking to limit overfishing in New England, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler said 13 parties, including the Associated Fisheries of Maine Inc., the Cape Cod Fishermen’s Association Inc., and the Northeast Seafood Coalition, can join the suit.

Other parties include the states of Maine and Massachusetts and the cities of New Bedford and Portland, Maine.

Kessler ruled in December that New England fishery managers defied federal laws to restore depleted stocks of cod and flounder.

The ruling is expected to result in new fishing restrictions, which fishing groups want a hand in shaping.

“We have a huge stake in successful rebuilding of fish stocks that is different than the interest of the conservation organizations,” said William Henchy, an attorney for the Commercial Hook Fishermen’s Association Inc.

“We, unlike them, will be directly regulated by the terms of any final judgment in the case, and personally affected by the outcome,” he said.

The conservationists had opposed the parties’ intervention.

“The status quo and delay won’t bring New England’s fisheries back to life,” said Eric Bilsky, an attorney for Washington D.C.-based Oceana, which filed the suit on behalf of the conservation groups.