The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) have established commercial quotas and recreational harvest limits for summer flounder for the 2013 fishing season and beyond.
The Commission’s actions are final and apply to state waters (0-3 miles from shore). The Council will forward its recommendations to NOAA’s Northeast Regional Administrator for final approval.
For summer flounder, the Commission approved and Council recommended a commercial quota of 11.44 million pounds and the recreational harvest limit of 7.63 million pounds for the 2013 fishing year, a decrease from 2012 levels.
The decrease is in part due to the drop in the spawning stock biomass estimate in the most recent assessment. Both groups set multi-year (2 years) specifications in response to industry’s request for increased stability in management measures from year to year.
source: Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission