Federal lawmakers have introduced a new bill to ban offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean.

Rep. Frank Pallone joined activists on Friday at the Asbury Park Boardwalk to roll out the bill.

Critics of offshore drilling say that an oil spill would be devastating to Jersey Shore communities and the fishing industry. The fishing industry generates nearly $8 billion per year.

"First what they do is they go out and blast the ocean with incredibly loud sound waves to find the pockets of oil and that has devastating effects, not only to the big marine life like whales but also zooplankton - is incredibly impacted,” says Clean Ocean Action executive director Cindy Zipf. “The little tiny fish and larvae that we depend on to grow up and become bigger fish, those are also impacted."

Lawmakers say that the goal now is to get the bill to President Joe Biden’s desk.