December 26, 2013 — Rhode Island representatives to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission are in the process of identifying key summer flounder challenges and solutions important to the state’s recreational anglers prior to the Jan. 15 public hearing on Draft Addendum XXV.
The addendum is expected to force Rhode Island to engage 2014 summer flounder recreational fishing regulations that are more conservative than the eight fish per angler day 18-inch minimum size regulations that were in effect in 2013. Key components of the addendum are new proposed regional options. One regional option groups Rhode Island with Massachusetts in a separate region, another places Rhode Island with Connecticut, New York and other coastal states. Many feel the regulations are changing to accommodate states such as New York as they have consistently overfished their summer flounder quota. The addendum is designed to allocate more quota to such states.
Jason McNamee, marine biologist for the DEM who serves on a number of commision panels said, “It’s tough to say which option is best for Rhode Island. I guess my personal opinion is that continuing state by state conservation equivalency (what we’ve been doing) is the best for us because all other options, even the one with Massachusetts have some level of either a bag decrease, a season decrease, or both. We do benefit in most cases with a smaller minimum size though.”
The meeting will take place at 6 p.m. in the Coreless Auditorium at URI’s Bay Campus, Narragansett.