Article in Press Says:
New data on flounder could restrict next year’s catch limits
By RICHARD DEGENER Staff Writer, Press of Atlantic City
Saturday, November 19, 2011
New data on summer flounder stocks are casting doubt on optimistic reports from August that anglers may get to catch more of the popular flatfish next year.
In August, the fishery councils that regulate summer flounder, also known as fluke, recommended increasing the 2012 harvest by 1.6 million pounds, a 7 percent increase. This followed an increase of more than 33 percent in 2011 over 2010 harvest levels as incoming data for several years had shown a robust recovery in flounder stocks.
But a new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration suggests that the recommended quota increases are too high “and may need to be reduced substantially.” Exact reductions are not yet known.
The report from the NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center was released in October and is expected to be a hot topic when the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, two panels that recommended the 7 percent catch increase, hold a joint meeting in December.
“The update in October suggests the picture is not nearly as rosy as far as the stock size. If we fish at the levels proposed, overfishing would occur in 2012,” said Jessica Coakley, who coordinates the flounder plan for the Mid-Atlantic council.
Some on the council, meanwhile, are critical of the NOAA for catering to New England fishing issues and providing the data on summer flounder, mainly a mid-Atlantic species, at such a late date. The council had been waiting on new stock assessments.
“The current situation is an unfortunate consequence resulting from the redirection of Northeast Science Center resources to New England,” council Chairman Rick Robins said.
Council Executive Director Chris Moore questioned the timing of the NOAA report and said Mid-Atlantic species are obviously “not a top priority.” The council, after announcing a possible increase in flounder landings in August, now has to explain why that will not happen.
“It is unfortunate that instead of focusing on the success we’ve had rebuilding summer flounder, we are now in a situation where we have to address and explain reductions in harvest limits.” Moore said.
The council is scheduling meetings of its Scientific and Statistical Committee and its Monitoring Committee to go over the new data and provide a new set of quota recommendations to the council.
Once New Jersey gets its quota, which is more than 39 percent of the East Coast recreational catch, it meets to decide specific regulations to meet that quota. That includes seasons, bag limits, and size restrictions. The New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council usually makes decisions on flounder during its March meeting.
Any cutbacks would also affect commercial catches in New Jersey. Commercial fishermen receive 60 percent of the East Coast quota, with anglers getting the rest.
The two councils in August recommended an East Coast quota of 35.55 million pounds, with 15.96 million pounds going to anglers and 19.59 million pounds going to the commercial sector. Regulators had set a goal of bringing the spawning stock biomass for flounder to 132.4 million pounds by Jan. 1, 2013, and announced it was reached early with the biomass hitting 163.4 million pounds.
But Coakley said the new data indicate the stock size and recruitment of new fish were overestimated while mortality of flounder was underestimated.
The councils make recommendations, but final decisions are made by the NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service. Coakley said 2012 flounder regulations must be set by Jan. 1 as the fish is caught commercially during the winter.
“We could do interim measures by Jan. 1,” Coakley said.
It probably will not be clear until March exactly how anglers will be affected. In 2011, they were allowed eight fish per day during a season that ran from May 7 to Sept. 25. The minimum fish size was 18 inches.