Flounder Reg Status

[striperman36]

Anyone have a status of where the ASMFC is with 07 Flounder Regs?
Are we going to have a season at all in MA?

Bill

[Mr. Sandman]

You mean Summer flounder (fluke) right?
In a classic style the fishery management teams have managed themselves into a real cluster f**k...again. This has turned into a real mess IMO.
Fluke stocks are pretty solid but as I understand it the rate at which they want to reach a certain target is not up to what they hoped for.

I would actually like to see it closed even though I love fluke fishing. This closure would bring such public outcry that real change in the management groups would occur. Fluke is the number 1 rec fish on the east coast. I also think the offshore comm limits are WAY TO HIGH for this fish.

These groups are a bunch of baffons who can't manage a thing. I keep pointing to fish like cod and herring. They have been managing this for 20+ years and it is worse now then ever. We don't need a half dozen groups each with sub committies with twisted rules that change frequently. We need clear straight forward management of stocks. end of story.

What PO's me the most is there claim to fame about how great of a job they did with bass. IMO it was because of their failure at managment of the species that lead to the near collapse not a success of a shutting it down. If they were doing their job this would not have had to happen.

Back to the fluke...I don't know exactly what will happen, it seems to change each week. "The Fishermen" weekly mag has almost constant reports as to the ups and downs. IMO Al Ristori is the only human that actually understands the impact of these on fishing public.

[striperman36]

Yes Summer Flounder - Fluke.
The Fisherman's updates are the only things I see also.
We may not be able to have a season at all next year if ASFMC stays on the same postion they currently have.
This year was the best year I have had size wise since 1988, amazing that there is still a discussion.
I believe it is primarily due to past reported rec coverages in the Mid-Atlantic States.

Bill

[Mr. Sandman]

Indeed. They have never been able to accurately count how many fish rec's take. The methods they use to estimate the catch is very error prone and they admit this but since this is "the best available data" this is what they use.

IMO bad data is actually worse then no data.

Have you ever been contacted on how many fluke you caught and how often you fish?

As a pragmatic argumentI don't see them shutting it down it is just way to popular of a past time and they could not stand the heat if they did. IMO they will either make new rules and/or mod the limits.

[slapshot]

I don't like the way they get their data either. I have never been contacted, or stopped to see what is in my fish box.

If they do close the fishery or severely restrict the limit to 1 or 2 fish, what will be the impact on the other inshore ground fishies? I am guessing that people will hammer the sea bass and porgie.

Of course they put these restrictions in place just as soon as I figured out how to catch a nice limit of fluke......

[striperman36]

Just got my NOAA survey in the mail
Anyone else get one?