PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Fishery regulators are meeting with commercial and recreational fishermen around New England and New York to talk about upcoming assessments of key fish stocks.

The Northeast Fisheries Science Center has scheduled the "port outreach meetings" to talk about the assessments of 20 groundfish stocks. Groundfish are commercially significant fish species such as cod, haddock and sole that live near the ocean floor.

The science center says it will explain the stock assessment process and ways industry concerns can be addressed. The first of the meetings is on Tuesday at Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen's Alliance in Chatham, Massachusetts.

Meetings will follow on Wednesday in New Bedford, Massachusetts; Thursday in Portland, Maine; Friday in Gloucester, Massachusetts; Aug. 28 in Point Judith, Rhode Island; and Aug. 30 in Montauk, New York.