PORTLAND — Federal regulators say they will reduce the amount of at-sea monitoring required in New England’s cod fishery in the coming fishing year.

At-sea monitors are workers who collect data that help inform fishing regulations. The government shifted the cost of paying for monitors from itself to fishermen earlier this year in a decision that riled the industry.

New England cod are in decline, and the industry argued it can’t afford another cost on top of tight quotas.

Fishermen were accompanied by monitors 24 percent of the time during the current fishing year, which ends on Saturday. The government issued a report on Friday that says it is reducing the rate of coverage to 14 percent.

The rules also apply to other groundfish such as haddock and pollock.

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