ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.  —  The Coast Guard has stopped searching for the owner and captain of a Rhode Island fishing boat that sank off the coast of New Jersey.

The Coast Guard suspended its search for 58-year-old Philip Ruhle at sunset Friday after searching an area larger than the state of Delaware.

A Coast Guard spokeswoman won't say if the suspension means that Ruhle is believed dead.

Two crew members were rescued after spending three hours in the water.

The 80-foot Sea Breeze of Newport, R.I., was laden with 100,000 pounds of fish when it capsized and sank about 45 miles east of Atlantic City late Wednesday.