BP spill closes more fishing areas

NEW ORLEANS, June 2 (UPI) -- Slightly more than 31 percent of the U.S. federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico are closed to fishing because of the offshore oil spill, regulators said.

British petroleum giant BP moved forward with plans Wednesday to cap a broken riser about 1 mile under water. Oil and natural gas has gushed from the site since last April when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig sank in the Gulf of Mexico.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that it expanded the northern and southern boundaries of closed fishing areas as workers move their containment efforts near eastern Alabama and the western edge of the Florida panhandle.

The closed area represents slightly more than 31 percent of U.S. federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico, or about 75,920 square miles. State waters aren't affected by the NOAA expansion.

Meanwhile, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, speaking in New Orleans, said federal investigators would pursue possible civil and criminal charges in the BP oil spill.

Holder said charges could include violations of the Clean Water Act, which carries civil and criminal penalties; the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, holding parties liable for cleanup costs; and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Endangered Species Acts, for injury and death to wildlife.