Future of Fluke Fishery and SSFFF Update

[Gerry Zagorski]

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I was invited to attend the Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund meeting on 9/25 and wanted to share with you some insights on this organization and what they are trying to accomplish. Let me first apologize in advance for the length of this post. There is a lot of information here that is important to understand so please bear with me as I try and boil it down for you all.

First of all, for those of you not familiar with the Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund (SSFFF) it’s a group of east coast anglers, Professional Captains and fishing tackle industry members who banded together when drastic cuts in the quota were announced and it was all but certain that the season would be a short one.

The SSFFF was founded with the sole purpose of insuring continued public access to a fully restored Summer Flounder (Fluke) Fishery. Back in 2007 SSFFF raised significant privately donated funding which was used to pay for independent population studies and eventually the inclusion of the SSFFF scientific team into the stock assessment process. SSFFF Scientists were at that time able to avert significant quota cutbacks and insure that the fishery continued to be accessible to all anglers, no matter where they lived or fished!

No one in the SSFFF has ever taken a salary. None of the monies contributed, almost $130,000 to date, goes to pay expenses cell phone bills, dinners, travel etc. 100% of the donations go directly to the cause at hand and that is to improve the science associated with assessing Fluke / Summer Flounder Stocks. In the end, the stock assessments results in the quotas we get and that in turn drives the regulations we have in terms of the length of the season, the size and how many fish we can keep.

It's important to note the SSFFF is not lobbying for a particular size limit or season length, any regional advantage or disadvantage ….Rather, their goal is to assure that regulators use the best available science when determining the stocks sizes. The currently used stock modeling tool isn't taking into account a number of key factors like length and sex, which can cause significant error in the model.

Right now, many of the scientists involved believe that the current stock science assessments are flawed, but it's the best they have due to limits in budget resources and Federal funding.

Recently the SSFFF formed a partnership with other stake holders to build the model that will best identify the health of this fishery. This is being done in cooperation with scientists at Cornell and Rutgers University and funding contributed by a number of different sources ,including a commercial Fishermen’s Association, a number of private and professional boat owners, recreational fluke anglers, the ASA which is a tackle industry association, local organizations like the Long Island Sport fishing Federation, RFA NJ chapter, and an assortment of other interested parties all who've come together to help pay for this very expensive, but much needed initiative.

Make sense so far??

OK let’s talk some science:

- Unlike many other species, Fluke are unique because female Fluke are the larger of the 2 sexes
- The larger the female the more eggs they produce
- Female fish can live up to 20 years and males only 10
- In the current model used to access stocks and predict future stocks, the sex of the Fluke are not taken into account.

What does this tell us?? Like us humans, men usually die before their wives but in our case, it’s because we want to (sorry just trying to keep this light and make sure you are paying attention

All kidding aside, the current model being used is based on surveys which contain the data of length and age but not sex. What the SSFFF is trying to do, in cooperation with the scientists and other interested parties, is to adopt a sex based model. This will be a far better way to assess the stocks because as mentioned above, female populations are very important and need to be considered for better management.

All the scientists present and everyone at the SSFFF were careful to say that there is no guarantee that what we are doing here is going to positively impact our short term regulations. In fact, based on the latest assessment methods, it appears we are in for a significant 2106 quota reduction. It will not be until the following years that the new model to use sex and the surveys taken to include sex, can have any effect in better assessment and management of the fishery.

So a few key points here:

- Better Science = Better Regulations….This is not an exercise to allow us as fisherman or business people to selfishly exploit a fishery for our short term personal or economic benefit. It’s about doing better job assessing the stocks which drives the long term sustainability of the fishery and sensible assessments which leads to sensible regulations.
- This also means the SSFFF is choosing to deal with this issue based on science, not politics. The monies are being used to fund science, not to give money to a politician in hopes of future political favors. That route is a slippery slope, requires a lot more money than we could ever raise and for me, goes against every moral fabric in my body and last but not least, does nothing to benefit and sustain the fishery.
- 2016 we are looking at a quota reduction and based on the current science, models and methods, there is no way around it. This is an investment in the future.
- In spite of what the regulations are and although you might have the legal right to, if you are a conservation minded fisherman, you might consider releasing big females.

While the SSFFF has raised enough funds to support this project through donations from all of you and other recreational organizations, additional funding is going to be needed to continue the work in 2016. We recreational people, businesses and organizations are not the only source of funding either. The Commercial side is supporting this effort as well and the Scientific Community is trying to secure government grant money too. It's also thought that once we prime the pump with private funding, government funding will follow.

I’m really glad I went to this meeting. I've always been a strong proponent of the SSFFF, what their mission is and how they go about trying to effect change. They are not trying to boil the ocean here or buy Politicians…. Instead they are taking the high road and are laser beam focus on one specific species that is important to us all and trying to make a difference with better Science.

Better Science = Better Regulations and a long term sustainable Fluke fishery that benefits us all.

Thanks for bearing with me here and for all the generous donations you've made in the past.

I hope you will all consider financially supporting the SSFFF as the needs arise for additional funding in 2016.

For more information on the SSFFF and to donate please visit www.ssfff.net

[Gerry Zagorski]

ASA Donation to the SSFFF

FishAmerica Foundation Awards $10,000 to Support Summer Flounder Science

To help advance fisheries science and promote improved fishing access to
summer flounder, the American Sportfishing Association has awarded $10,000
through the FishAmerica Foundation to support the Save the Summer Flounder
Fishery Fund (SSFFF). The foundation’s grant will be leveraged with $50,000
in additional matching funds from other organizations and agencies.

“The FishAmerica Foundation is proud to support SSFFF on their initiative to
advance fisheries science and promote improved fishing access to summer
flounder for those who enjoy it and depend on its survival,” said Mike
Nussman, president and CEO of the American Sportfishing Association (ASA).
“The recent decision by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council to
significantly cut the summer flounder recreational harvest in 2016 makes
this all the more important.”

The SSFFF is working with scientists from Cornell, Rutgers and other
universities, along with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), to
develop a more comprehensive summer flounder model that more accurately
portrays the size and composition of the fishery. Dr. Pat Sullivan from
Cornell University is leading the effort on developing the new stock
synthesis model, which he hopes will be ready for review by the summer
flounder stock assessment scheduled for 2016. The new model, if accepted by
NMFS, will lead to better, more accurate fisheries management.

“ASA has, from day one, been in the forefront of supporting this effort for
better science, and on behalf of the SSFFF board, I extend my appreciation
to the foundation,” said Nick Cicero, SSFFF board member . “With luck, this
may be the start of a new way of dealing with NMFS and the beginning of a
more cooperative relationship between all user groups.”

As ASA’s research and conservation foundation, the FishAmerica Foundation
empowers local communities to invest in improving sportfishing opportunities
and habitat conservation through matching funding and volunteer support

[Rubberhead]

Thanks for sharing Gerry. Very informative. I'm on board

[MVP]

Thanks Gerry for sharing info

[MudCat08]

Is it true that most of the 18" and larger fish that are taken are females?

If so then a lot of the shorts are males, and the shortage that this causes will mean diminishing fluke populations over time (regardless of increasing the size regulation).

Based on all the scientific research, do any males reach 18" or larger in their lifetime?

If you know the answers to these questions, please let us know!

[Gerry Zagorski]

I didn't know but I found this on the NOAA site.

Females grow faster than males; males attain a maximum age and length of about 7 years and 24 inches respectively, as compared with 12 years and 32 inches for females. Summer flounder are sexually mature by age 2.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Most Fluke over 24 inches are very likely to be Female and the bigger the fish the more eggs they will lay.

I don't have any issues with people keeping their legal limits, but I'll certainly be a bit more likely to be releasing the bigger ones and keep the smaller ones for the table.

That's just me and to each his own.

[CadiShackFishing]

Thanks for the information Gerry, I guess in the future we need to do more C&R when it comes to catching the big ones. Of course snap a few pictures quickly before returning them to the water.

[MudCat08]

Ok thank you for the info. it does look like we should release the biggest fish.
I'm in no danger since I've never caught a keeper fluke at 18" or more yet!

Love fishing for them in the surf.

[FISHGERE]

Sounds all to crazy for me, fishing should not have to be so hard. Gonna sell all my stuff and go to whole foods.will post the yard sale date soon.