SEABROOK, N.H. – New rules intended to restore depleted groundfish stocks are keeping Seacoast fishermen tied up at the docks and local seafood out of stores until July 1.

That means all the cod, haddock and other groundfish in New England supermarkets now is imported from countries such as Iceland and Norway, said Portsmouth fisherman Erik Anderson.

“It makes me furious,” he said. “I would think it would make the consumer furious they don’t have access to local [catch].”

The new rules, known as Amendment 13, took effect May 1, cutting the number of days at sea from about 88 days two years ago to a maximum of 53 days this year for most fishermen.

Amendment 13 also closed some fishing grounds closer to shore and ordered gear changes to make it easier for fish to escape nets. The rules increased the size of the daily codfish catch from 500 pounds to 800 pounds, but they put limits on yellowtail flounder for the first time.

Even before the new rules went into effect, fishing grounds near the New Hampshire coast were closed from May 1 – the traditional start of the fishing season – through the end of June. Areas closer to Gloucester, Mass., will reopen June 1.

The closures are further jeopardizing the local fishing industry because supermarket suppliers have made deals with wholesalers of overseas fish, said Bob Campbell, manager of the Yankee Fishermen’s Cooperative in Seabrook.

Now suppliers won’t commit to buying from local wholesalers such as the co-op, he said.

“They’ve already found alternatives,” Campbell said. “It has a huge effect on revenue.”

The regulations were devised after U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler ruled in December 2001 that the government wasn’t doing enough to stop overfishing. Fishermen protested, arguing the science used to count fish stocks was flawed and fish stocks were healthier than believed.

Last November, regional regulators at the New England Fishery Management Council approved a plan proposed by a Gloucester-based fishing group, which had a new class of fishing days as its centerpiece.

The so-called “B Days” were supposed to give fishermen extra fishing days when they could target only healthy stocks, such as haddock.

The pilot project was approved last year, but regulators said the complex program needed more time to develop. The B Days won’t go into effect until Nov. 1, further hurting fishermen who had counted on them.

Anderson, who is 52 and has fished for more than 30 years, is thinking about getting out of the business.

“I don’t know if I’m going to be the guy welcoming you at Wal-Mart or the guy saying, ‘May I take your order?”‘ he said.