Interstate Fisheries Management

Summer flounder, Paralichthys dentatus, is one of the most sought after commercial and recreational fish along the Atlantic coast. Summer flounder is found in inshore and offshore waters from Nova Scotia, Canada to the east coast of Florida. In the U.S., they are most abundant in the Mid-Atlantic region from Cape Cod, Massachusetts to Cape Fear, North Carolina. The reauthorization of the Magnuson-Steven Fishery Conservation and Management Act in December 2006, responded to the concerns of both recreational and commercial summer flounder anglers. Lawmakers included language that will extend the 10-year rebuilding plan for summer flounder to 13 years, ending in 2013. The Act requires that all other overfished stocks rebuild within a ten year time period.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) conducted an update and peer review of the summer flounder assessment and reference points in September of 2006. The Peer Review Panel recommendations required a revision to the summer flounder assessment model, biological reference point, and projection calculations. The assessment indicated that while the species is not overfished, biomass has not recovered to the level projected by earlier assessments. It also indicated that overfishing continued in 2005, with the current estimate of fishing mortality (0.407) above the target and threshold fishing mortality rates of 0.280. Although, the abundance at age for most age classes has continued to increase over the last ten years, the 2005 year class is estimated to the smallest since 1988, about 15 million fish (NEFSC, 2006).

Managers are currently considering issues to include in Draft Amendment 15 to the summer flounder fisheries management plan. These issues included management strategies for allocating quota in the commercial and recreation fishery, identifying ways to quantify discards, address rollover of unused quotas, and consider recreational management strategies. <species profile> <stock status> <habitat fact sheet>

Contacts

Toni Kerns, Senior FMP Coordinator for Management
Management Board
- Chair, Jack Travelstead
Technical Committee
- Chair, Rich Wong
Technical Monitoring Committee
Advisory Panel

Management Plans & Actions

* Previous plans and addenda can be found at Fishery Management Reports

Annual Reports

FMP Reviews 2006 2004 2002 2000
Stock Assessment Reports 2006 2005
NEW: State-by-State Regulations
2008 Recreational Measures

Meeting & Minutes Summaries

Upcoming Meetings

3/31 (1:00 – 5:00 PM) & 4/1 (9:00 AM – 4:00 PM):
ASMFC Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Technical Committee, Radisson Plaza Lord Baltimore, 20 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore, Maryland.

Pending Actions for Public Input

Press Releases

ASMFC Summer Flounder Board Approves Initiation of Addendum to Explore Use of Maximum Size Limits as a Potential Management Tool (August 20, 2008)

ASMFC Summer Flounder Board Approves State Recreational Management Measures (February 7, 2008)

ASMFC Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Board Approves Addendum XIX (August 14, 2007)

ASMFC Approves 2008 TALs for Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass, and Bluefish (August 9, 2007)

States Schedule Hearings on Draft Addendum XIX to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass FMP (June 4, 2007)

ASMFC Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Board Releases Draft Addendum XIX for Public Comment (May 10, 2007)

ASMFC Summer Flounder Board Sets 2007 TAL (December 12, 2006)

ASMFC Board Approves Addendum XVI to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Plan: Addendum Establishes Procedures to Address Delayed Implementation of Required Fisheries Management Measures (May 10, 2006)

ASMFC Board Approves Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Public Information Document for Public Comment (March 21, 2006, revised April 7, 2006)

ASMFC Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Board Approves Addendum XVIII (February 23, 2006)