July 6, 2021 — The 2021 quota for summer flounder, or fluke, is 12.48 million pounds — up from last year. As of late May, almost 37 percent of quota had been landed, according to NOAA. So far, since the start of the 2021 fishing year, landings are up, compared to last year for January to April. In general, state allocations vary each year, based on the overall quota.
Not surprisingly, 2020 was defined by major market disruptions as a result of the covid-19 pandemic. But in some respects, the pandemic may not have had as large an impact on summer flounder compared to other species, in part, because it is a very well-established staple item in many regions. At times in 2020, fishing effort may have gone down, but some in the industry were lucky to be able to pivot to retail sales when restaurant markets tanked.
Average commercial ex-vessel price for fluke consistently increased from 2011 to 2017, reaching a peak at $4.40 per pound, but then fell in 2019. Total ex-vessel value in 2019 was $28.54 million. The 2020 average price per pound was depressed, relative to recent years — coastwide average ex-vessel price was $2.58 per pound (whereas in 2016-19, it averaged around $3.75 per pound.)
“2020 was definitely an odd year due to covid,” says Kiley Dancy of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. “We observed a clear decline in landings compared to 2019, starting in April last year and lasting for a few months.” But eventually, adds Dancy, landings did return to “normal,” relative to the 2019 trajectory. When all was said and done, 2020 commercial landings ended up very close to 2019. “Preliminary data indicate 9.11 million pounds landed in 2020,” Says Dancy, “compared to 9.06 million pounds in 2019.”