# Flounder Cuts for 07



## junkmansj (Jul 23, 2005)

Flounder catches could take another hit in 2007.
The Mid-Atlantic Marine Fishery Management Council recommended at a meeting Wednesday in Philadelphia that the total landings on the East Coast next year be reduced to 19.9 million pounds from 23.6 million pounds.
Ed Goldman of Absecon, who joins the council on Aug. 10 as a representative from New Jersey, attended the meeting and reported that the recommendation now goes to the National Marine Fisheries Service. The NMFS was asking for a drastic cut to 5.2 million pounds.
“We didn't want that,” Goldman said.
What does this mean for recreational summer flounder fishing in New Jersey?
That won't be known until a joint meeting in December between the Mid-Atlantic Marine Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. There could be a reduced season for flounder, a larger per-fish minimum, a smaller daily possession limit or a combination of all three, according to Goldman.
The meetings at the Sheraton Society Hill Hotel from Tuesday through today are joint sessions. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission postponed action until its October meeting in North Carolina, according to Toni Kerns, a staff member of the commission's flounder management plan.
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council also made a second motion that proposed a revision to the federally mandated 10-year plan. The plan will have only three years for any requirements to be achieved.
Goldman said the main discussion Wednesday concerned whether any plan could achieve what NMFS is insisting on: the stocks being rebuilt to a biomass of 204 million pounds by the end of 2009. Published reports put the current stocks at 112 million pounds.
U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-6th, the ranking member of the House Fisheries and Oceans Subcommittee spoke at the meeting.
“This all derives from the changes in the stock estimation models and from management decisions that are based on rebuilding the fluke stock to a target biomass of 204 million pounds,” Pallone said, according to a press release from his office. “I feel compelled to ask where that number came from. There is no definitive evidence that it ever existed in nature. If that level did exist, it was probably early last century at a time when coastal development and pollution were a lot less than they are now.”
Pallone was joined by Sens. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., and Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and Rep. H. James Saxton, R-3rd, in urging the council and commission to avoid drastic cuts.
Goldman reported that there were recommended reductions in three other areas. It was proposed that black sea bass be dropped to 6 million pounds from 8 million, bluefish be cut to 27,962,270 pounds and scup be cut to 16 million pounds.
To e-mail Michael Shepherd at The Press:
[email protected]


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## cocoflea (Aug 1, 2002)

Now I've been seeing diferent things about this and is it true that the data they are using in known to be incorrectbut they are still basing the decision on that data that is know to be false?


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## cfishigotu (Aug 27, 2003)

PRESS RELEASE
Letter to Governor Jon Corzine on Summer Flounder Quota

September 6, 2007
JCAA feels that we cannot rely on the National Marine Fisheries Service to make a correct decision about the summer flounder quota for 2007. Their record in fisheries management has been dismal. They continually fail to recognize the economic and social consequences of their actions. There is considerable attention being focused on the Magnuson Act and its renewal. JCAA is unsure that the Magnuson Act will even pass this year. Even if it does pass it may not have any positive impact on the current problem for summer flounder in 2007. 

After careful consideration, JCAA is recommending that we focus our energies on ASMFC. At this time ASMFC has not voted on a quota for summer flounder for 2007. We believe it is time for ASMFC to stand up to NMFS rather than simply rubber stamp NMFS’s draconian recommendations. As a former commissioner I have asked ASMFC to take a stand contrary to NMFS several times. Recently I have no success in getting ASMFC commissioners from other states to use common sense and represent the best interests of their states, the recreational and commercial communities and the resource. Our previous efforts have all focused on the individual commissioners. However, two of the three commissioners from each of the 14 states in the compact are appointed by and report directly to their governor. They are the Governor’s Appointee and the State Director. The other commissioner is the Legislative Representative. 

With this in mind, JCAA is asking Governor Corzine to take a leadership role by directing his commissioners to vote for the 19.9 million pound quota recommended by the staff of the Monitoring Committee and passed by the Mid-Atlantic Marine Fisheries Management Council. Although JCAA does not believe this 3.7 million pound reduction is necessary we understand this quota would meet the 50% probability to prevent overfishing required by the summer flounder fisheries management plan. In addition, we are asking Governor Corzine to contact the governors whose states are represented on the Summer Flounder Management Board. These are the states from Massachusetts to North Carolina. JCAA would like these governors to direct their commissioners to vote with New Jersey and support the 19.9 million pound quota. We are in contact with groups representing recreational and commercial interests in these states and we are asking them to contact their governors and make their support for this action known. 

Many individuals have been asking what they should do and who they should write to. Here’s your chance. Write to your governor supporting this action and send a copy of the letter to all 3 of your commissioners. You can find the addresses of your commissioners at the ASMFC website (http://www.asmfc.org/).

JCAA is sending a letter to Governor Corzine making this a formal request. I have enclosed a copy of that letter. Given Governor Corzine’s understanding of this problem and the support for this action he will receive from the Division of Fish and Wildlife, we anticipate his prompt positive response to our request. It will be helpful to him, however, to hear directly from as many individual anglers and fishing organizations as possible. New Jersey’s commissioners have a history of supporting common sense fisheries management, especially for summer flounder. This is not true of the commissioners from all the other states represented on the Summer Flounder Management Board. We can’t stop with our governor, whose support we anticipate, but must reach out to friends, organizations and fellow anglers in other states and ask them to turn up the heat at home.

Sincerely,
Thomas Fote
Legislative Chairman
22 Cruiser Court
Toms River, NJ 08753
Phone 732-270-9102
Fax 732-506-6409
[email protected]


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