Fluke Management

[Down The Hatch]

I have been trying to stay up to date with the current fluke regulations. It seems that the 18" fish are the breeders and those are the ones they want fisherman to keep. I would like to see us be able to keep the 16's and 17's but then they never become the breeding stock. Is there just a simple, common sense way to figure all this out?

[Brewlugger]

3 fish 16 to 18 inches.

[Down The Hatch]

That would work for me

[Brewlugger]

Me too, and the stock will rebound.

[Brewlugger]

Originally Posted by Brewlugger

3 fish 16 to 18 inches.

And close the winter offshore fishing.

[Fortunate Son]

Agreed. Slot limit and no dragging.

[Detour66]

There seems to be a lot more 15-17.5" fish than 18-21" in fish in NJ waters.

[Solemate]

Said slot fish 10 years ago and everyone thought I was nuts. How times change

[Billfish715]

Some of us have been around for quite a few years and have watched saltwater fishing evolve. Fishing tackle has continued to improve by leaps and bounds, from lighter rods and reels to line, hooks and terminal tackle. Electronics, boats, social media, and techniques have all given new dimensions to fishing. Through all of these advances and years, never has there been a year when there were no fluke to catch. They are resilient.

When size limits were below 15", there was no outrage about overfishing. Even if there was a lot of pressure on the fluke population, they kept on coming back. Do we need to have size limits at 18" or more in order to save the future of fluke fishing? The future somehow becomes the past very quickly. Ask any person who is retired. When I look at the past, I've always been able to find and catch fluke. If I'm fishing for a dinner or two, do I need an 18" fish to eat? No. Would I be happy to catch and eat a 15" or 16" fluke? Yes. Will I destroy the fluke fishing for the future by keeping some of the sandwich-sized fluke? No.

For me, the past was once the future and never has there been a season when I went without having fluke for dinner. The recreational fishermen will never destroy the future of summer flounder fishing. Commercial guys won't either unless they are encouraged and allowed to drag for them during the winter on their spawning beds.

Recreational guys never destroyed the winter flounder fishing or the striped bass and bluefish and weakfish and tuna and ling and whiting and mackerel yada, yada, yada..........but the recs pay the price for the mismanagement of the guys who have the most influential lobbyists.

The past is behind us with its 14.5", 15", 15.5", 16", 16.5", 17", 17.5" limits and still the fluke are here but we can't keep them. Why are the "scientists" afraid of the future of the summer flounder? With the scientists or without them, the fluke are still here. The science is glorified numbers crunching and mathematical equations with incomplete data input and variables. One scientific haul seine for data research and data, taken in the wrong area will give much different information than the same haul seine done only a few miles away. One sample will indicate a much smaller total than the another. It might indicate how few fluke are on the bottom. As a result, you guessed it, the results would indicate a dire future for the fish and fishermen

Had the haul been done with different equipment or in a different area where the fluke were, there would be a different outcome. The past has proven itself. The fluke, despite the regulations, will still be here in the future.

[Billfish715]

One more thing to ponder........After looking back over all of the size limit increases, I had to think, once again, about the science involved with all of the changes and management. If the science and management was accurate and trustworthy, why did the size limits continue to increase? Someone and something had to be wrong, otherwise the increases would never have continued. They would not have continued for so many years either. The mistake would have been discovered and admitted and rectified. Instead, mistakes kept being made for decades. Many of the fishermen on this board can't remember the shorter size regulations. You are being fed incorrect information about who is to blame for the current state of affairs. Many of you believe that your fathers and grandfathers are to blame. WRONG! Look to the legislators who are socially engineering everything including the future of fluke fishing.

No one is held accountable except the fishermen who now are pitted against each other while the rules' makers get off scott free. Think about it. Their management plans have not worked and yet they continue to call the shots. Will they ever admit their failures? Don't hold your breath. We are many. They are few and yet, we continue to comply. Let fishermen set the rules and standards.