PORTLAND, Maine – New England fishing officials yesterday approved by a single vote a controversial proposal that will all but require commercial fishermen to manage their fishing hauls cooperatively starting next May, according to The Boston Globe.

A fisherman’s catch is currently limited both in the amount of fish he or she can bring back from sea and in the total number of days on which he or she can fish. The new system would place limits on groups of fishermen, who would form cooperatives known as “sectors,” rather than individuals, The Globe said. The fishermen would then figure out among themselves how to fish within their sector’s limits.

Under rules adopted yesterday by the New England Fishery Management Council, New England would have 19 sectors for catch bottom-dwelling species such as cod and flounder, The Globe said. That includes two sectors which are already up and running on an experimental basis on Cape Cod.

The authorities hope the new system would help reduce problems associated with overfishing by getting the commercial fishing industry to take more interest in the health of fish stocks. Patricia Kurkul, regional administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries service, called the move “a real step in the right direction.”

“I see sustainable fisheries and fishermen in a better position to make business decisions without the [current] restrictions,” Kurkul said, according to The Globe.

But fishermen remain skeptical. “We are being forced into sectors,’’ Joe Orlando, a Gloucester fish captain with 35 years of experience, told The Globe. “There is not enough fish to go around, and a lot of people are going to [leave the business]. We don’t want this.’’