August 4, 2017 — MIDDLETOWN, N.J. — Fourteen fishing trawlers at Belford Seafood Cooperative are sitting idle after fishermen have met the commercial summer flounder quota a month ahead of schedule.
Roy Diehl, president of the cooperative, said the reason for the quick end to the season is strict conservation measures put in place this winter by a regional fishery commission.
“They say there’s no fish. Well, we caught our whole summer quota in two weeks, so there’s plenty of fish out there,” said Diehl.
In February the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission cut the coastwide summer flounder quota by 30 percent from Maine to Florida, citing a drop in the biomass of the stock.