GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP, N.J. — March 8, 2013 — Summer flounder fishermen will lose 25 fishing days this year under regulations approved unanimously Thursday by the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council.
The council had six options to choose from to meet a reduction plan mandated by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, or ASMFC, and chose the one that won the most support in a packed meeting room at the Atlantic County Library.
The option chosen keeps the daily bag limit of five fish per day and the minimum fish size of 17.5 inches that were in place last year. It shortens the season by 13 days in May and 12 days in September.
Last year’s season ran from May 5 to Sept. 28, a total of 147 days. Council chose a season from May 18 to Sept. 16, for 122 days.
Anglers left with some hope that days could be added later and were urged to return for the council’s May meeting. The ASMFC is considering a plan to allow states that are not using their whole flounder quota to put the extra fish in a pool from which other states could draw. There will be a public hearing on the plan, but a date has not been set.
“That’s a voluntary contribution program by other states. I’m not too sure how many we’ll get,” Council Chairman Dick Herb said.
The ASMFC is blaming a decline in spawning stock for lowering the East Coast flounder harvest from 21.22 million pounds last year to 19.07 million pounds. Cuts are different for each state, and New Jersey had the highest at more than 15 percent. New York was second at 14 percent.
Read the full article at The Press of Atlantic City