PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — New Hampshire authorities say what started as a search for a diver who did not surface while checking lobster traps is now being called a recovery mission.

Portsmouth Fire Chief Steve Achilles told the Portsmouth Herald the diver had about an hour of air. He had been checking traps Friday morning off a small lobster boat near the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge, which connects Maine and New Hampshire.

When the driver did not surface, an emergency call was made.

Achilles said the fire department is turning over the recovery operation to the U.S. Coast Guard and the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department.