July 16, 2015 — Just when it seemed fluke regulations were finally fair, balanced and generally tolerable, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) announced last week that summer flatties have suffered several consecutive years of lower than average reproductive success.
Although this is a spawning issue and not related to overfishing by New York or its neighboring states, the result will likely be a tightening of fluke regulations in 2016. The harvest reductions needed could top 40 percent and, by law, must be effective at the start of the 2016 season.
“Such swift and steep reductions would be a devastating blow to our fluke fishery,” said Capt. Tony DiLernia, one of New York’s representatives to the MAFMC, in a telephone interview Thursday. “But there is hope for relief. Governor Cuomo is exploring ways to spread any significant reductions over a three-year span. That was recently done with sea bass regulation, so there is precedent.”
According to DiLernia, stocks of any fish are likely to fluctuate slightly from year to year based on environmental factors. Trying to immediately account for those changes can result in painfully stringent regulations.
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