MAFMC and ASMFC Set 2008 Summer Flounder Total Allowable Landings

Port Jefferson, NY- The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) and Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Summer Flounder Management Board approved a 15.77 million-pound total allowable landings (TAL) limit for the 2008 summer flounder fishery, a 1.3 million-pound reduction from 2007.  Applying the current recreational sector allocation of 40 percent, anglers will be limited to 6.3 million pounds of fluke next year, the lowest recreational quota in the history of the fishery. 

It can be expected that if the 15.77 million pound TAL stands, anglers will again see minimum size limits increase, bag limits decrease and shorter seasons in 2008, despite the fact that there are currently more summer flounder then ever.  The mismanagement of this fishery will manifest in more fish being killed, due to discard mortality, than fish being brought to the dock.  Discarding within the recreational summer flounder fishery has proven to be wasteful and very discouraging to anglers. 

The latest quota cut represents another example of the serious problems in the management of summer flounder.  Inflexibility and arbitrary rebuilding time frames within the federal fisheries law, Magnuson Stevens, have created a situation where fishermen are put in a no-win situation and never reap the benefits of conservation.  Furthermore, lawsuits filed by anti-fishing environmental groups have limited the ability of fisheries managers to consider social and economic importance when setting annual catch limits. An unattainable rebuilding goal continues to restrict fishermen, even as the stock is growing.  The RFA will continue working to incorporate flexibility within Magnuson and fighting to secure a TAL that will inflict the least amount of socioeconomic damage on our sport. 

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