July 31, 2017 — Several months of fighting over catch restrictions for summer flounder, a.k.a. fluke, culminated earlier this month in a striking victory for New Jersey fishing interests and their representatives.
Federal regulators wanted to cut the catch 30 percent by increasing the size of keeper fish an inch (to 19 inches in the ocean and nearby waters, 18 in Delaware Bay), imposing a daily limit of three fish and setting a 128-day season.
Since January, fishing groups such as the Jersey Coast Anglers Association and federal representatives have pushed to avert the restrictions, at least until a fresh assessment of the flounder stock can be made.
Rep. Frank LoBiondo and fellow delegates from New Jersey in January sent the first of four letters against the restrictions to Obama administration Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. When that got nowhere, a letter went to her replacement in the Trump administration, Wilbur Ross … and then in April one to the chair of the House panel considering a LoBiondo-sponsored bill requiring a new stock assessment.