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on Wednesday, to more than one-third of US federal waters there.
The area closed was 80,806 square miles (209,271 square kilometers), or about 33.4 percent of the Gulf's federal waters, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported.
On June 7, a total of 32.3 percent of Gulf federal waters were closed to fishing.
"Closing fishing in these areas is a precautionary measure to ensure that seafood from the Gulf will remain safe for consumers," NOAA said.
The closed area expanded northward to include waters off Panama City beach in northern Florida, NOAA said, noting that the federal closure does not apply to any US state waters.
