The regulatory body that oversees commercial fishing in New England approved steep cuts to the catch quotas Wednesday for two types of cod in the region because of depleted stocks, a move that advocates said will devastate the livelihoods of many fishermen.

The New England Fishery Management Council voted to reduce the catch limit of Gulf of Maine cod by 77 percent from last year and the US share of Georges Bank cod, whose stock is shared with Canada, by 55 percent, said Patricia Fiorelli, a council spokeswoman.