Summer Flounder Commercial Regulation Changes

[Gerry Zagorski]

Looks like some changes coming to the Commercial Regulations for Summer Flounder. Quotas and seasons looks like they remain the same but they’re going to allow the them to keep Summer Flounder as a by catch when fishing with smaller trawl net diameters for other smaller species. I assume the by catch will count towards their quotas.

https://www.icontact-archive.com/arc...68e0c7a3f95c98

[Broad Bill]

Received notice of this change four days ago. They're passing this under the smokescreen of reducing discards by other small mesh netters when in fact the driving force is increasing catch values for the commercial sector. As stated, "the intent of this change is to increase economic opportunities for industry while continuing to protect the summer flounder stock and prevent regulatory discards". Instead of summer flounder being an incidental by catch while targeting other species like sea bass and porgies, these small mesh operators will actually now target and retain summer flounder and be allowed to keep an amount yet to be disclosed to increase "economic opportunities " or catch values. More pressure on the stock during winter months when the biomass is most concentrated and most vulnerable to netting. They're also moving the line where these exemptions exist 5 miles further inshore and issuing more exemptions to make the last remaining biomass more accessible to hundreds more commercial operators. At the same time, the definition of "flynet" is being liberalized to further allow more carnage to the stock while the stock winters offshore. Short term decisions benefitting the commercial sector with unquantifiable risks to the stock itself. There's no safe harbor for this fishery and without some protection of the stock and spawn itself, this fishery will not survive. So discards become harvest and thousands if not millions more fish are killed, how exactly does that help a fishery with one leg already in the grave.

MAFMC increased minimum mesh sizes in 1997 under Amendment 10 to "allegedly" protect younger age classes from being killed right at the same time they started increasing recreational size minimums giving the commercial sector exclusive access to certain age groups of the stock. Over the last two decades with recreational size minimums increasing to essentially a minimum coast wide size of 18" or larger, that exclusivity has increased to the point the commercial sector now has exclusive harvest rights to 80% - 90% of the biomass assisted by the caveat they can still retain fish at 14" and above if they choose. Now that older age classes have crashed because they've been targeted by the regulations and are disappearing from the biomass, this policy change is allowing small mesh operators targeting other species to get in on the game to supplement their catch values. Has nothing to do with discard mortality as the article suggests. If fish were being accidentally netted and discarded dead, now they'll be targeted and retained. Either way, they're dead and this policy will increase the numbers killed. Remember it was small mesh netters and the foreign fleet that wiped out our ground stock within a year or two in the 70's, this will have the same effects.

Quotas cut by over 40% and now this. Where's the comparable liberalization for the recreational sector. Where's regulations managing and protecting the stock? And so everyone's aware, Michael Waine from the beloved do nothing ASA is on the Committee responsible for passing these changes.

And they say they'll monitor the impacts of additional harvest and discard rates to determine the impacts these revised regulations will have on killing more summer flounder and if those levels become too egregious changes will be made. That's equivalent to the fox guarding the chicken coop as discard information is based on self reporting from commercial operators on vessel trip reports they fill out with any discard numbers they arbitrarily elect to report. Numbers generated by the same people benefitting from this policy change. If the recreational sector self reported, you can bet our landings and discard numbers would probably be half what MRIP suggests they are.

Fair and equitable distribution and access to the resource, the regulations governing this fishery have gone from absurd to absolutely insanity. And for anyone who consciously believes this fishery years ago wasn't turned over to the commercial sector, you don't understand the impact of decisions that have been made and the inequities of the impacts of those decisions between the recreational and commercial sectors while the overall health of the stock continues to take a back seat. All those younger age class fish people talked about being caught and released this year providing hope for the future of the fishery, as I said then and will repeat now, they'll be available at $29.99 a lb. in your local super markets this winter. You think they'll rebuild the older age classes which have been decimated by regulations, think again. The continued pounding of this stock by commercial interests throughout the entire winter when a majority of the commercial quota is filled, led by the mega boats from North Carolina and Virginia, will never allow that rebuilding process to happen. And now God only know how many small mesh netters are going to get in on that action.

We went from overharvesting younger age classes and crashing the stock in the late 80's to protecting younger age classes from recreational harvest while incentivizing commercials to harvest those more valuable age classes over the last two decades. Now that the relative population of those age groups has been pummeled, management is now giving the commercial sector the liberty to once again have more focus on younger age classes and allowing more "small mesh" netters to get involved. Any fishery under management with a year round commercial presence today is screwed.

[AndyS]

When they're gone they're gone, just like the Whiting, Boston Mackerel, Mako Sharks, Winter Flounder and Weakfish.

[Broad Bill]

Originally Posted by AndyS

When they're gone they're gone, just like the Whiting, Boston Mackerel, Mako Sharks, Winter Flounder and Weakfish.

Andy I've been saying for years on this site and to ASMFC, MAFMC and NMFS, this stock will be the next winter flounder saga and the sad part is it's happening for exactly the same reasons meaning we haven't learned from past mistakes or more likely these groups consciously choose to ignore all the red flags for their own personal agendas and benefits and for the primary benefit of the commercial sector. Anyone who doesn't realize that is blind.