Tag Archives: fluke

Connecticut’s fishing fleet facing potentially ‘disastrous’ quota cuts for fluke

“It’s going to put us out of business,” Stonington fisherman Robert Guzzo, vice president of the Southern New England Fishermen and Lobstermen’s Association, said Wednesday. “I’ve never seen so many fish in the ocean. The fish are out there, but the science and the regulators haven’t caught up with what’s actually out there.” On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., pressed commerce secretary nominee Wilbur Ross to use his authority to change how quotas for fish species including fluke — also called summer flounder — are allocated among states from the mid-Atlantic to New England. In response, Ross said he is interested in helping the fisheries and ensuring quotas are allocated properly. The Department of Commerce includes the National Marine Fisheries Service. Blumenthal’s statements during the hearing came a day after he and U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, sent a letter to the current commerce secretary urging that the new quotas be withdrawn. Read the story here 10:30

Georges Bank said to be ‘paved with fluke! Fishermen Assail NOAA Quotas – Schumer fears major job losses

Commercial fishermen on the draggers seen offshore last week took advantage of calmer seas and the State Department of Environmental Conservation’s raising of the daily limit on fluke from 70 to 210 pounds. The higher limit was in effect from Dec. 18 through Friday as the state’s annual quota for the fish, highly sought by commercial and recreational fishermen alike, had not been reached.,, Mark Phillips, who fishes on the F/V Illusion out of Greenport, was once among the largest harvesters of fluke in the state, landing a few hundred thousand pounds per year, by his count. The problem, Mr. Phillips said, is that stock assessments are inaccurate because NOAA conducts surveys — such as with its ship the Henry B. Bigelow, which collects data in waters from Maine to North Carolina — when fluke are migrating from undersea canyons to inshore waters. Read the story here 14:49

Fishing advocates seek delay in new limits on fluke fishing

Fishing advocates seeking to head off what they described as “devastating” reductions in the New York quota for fluke next year are calling on federal regulators to forestall planned 2017 cuts until a more current assessment of the fish population is completed. Led by frequent fishing advocate Sen. Chuck Schumer, a group of 50 recreational and commercial fishing boat captains and advocates gathered at the Captree Boat Basin in Babylon Thursday to say a planned 30 percent reduction would threaten hundreds of businesses. Schumer said he plans to reach out to the U.S. Department of Commerce and its newly nominated secretary, Wilbur Ross, to address his concerns, including requesting an expedited fluke population assessment and a suspension of the new cuts until improved data is available. Schumer said he was hopeful that Ross, a New Yorker who was once an adviser on the Long Island Lighting Co. buyout by LIPA, could step in to forestall management moves by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees councils that manage the fluke fishery. Schumer said he would reach out to President-elect Donald Trump, Ross and “whoever I have to to get this changed.” Read the story here 20:06

Party boat captains irate over summer flounder cuts

Few things are causing more ire among recreational fishermen than the summer flounder cuts. Some party boat captains have called it “nail in the coffin” measures that are being taken by fishery management that starts from the top down with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “It seems that every time we make a sacrifice there ends up being less boats on the water. It seems like they want us off the water,” said Gambler party boat owner and captain Bob Bogan. The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council is recommending a 3.77 million pound recreational harvest limit for 2017. That’s down from 5.42 million in 2016. Read the story here 18:32

Further cut in fluke quota puts Stonington fishermen, wholesaler in peril

Imagine one of the breadwinners in a typical two-earner household is suddenly hit with a 26 percent pay cut. Then, just as the family has adjusted to the leaner budget, the same worker’s pay gets lopped another 30 percent. Their landlord already has reduced their rent, and the family has cut corners wherever they could, so how will they make ends meet now? That’s basically the question Mike Gambardella, owner of Gambardella Wholesale Fish at Stonington Town Dock, is asking himself. He faces a new 30 percent reduction in the supply of fluke, one of his main products, next year, following the 26 percent cut he’s already dealing with this year that’s cost him about $100,000 in revenue. It also forced him to lay off one of his workers and reduce pay for himself and his remaining six workers, and negotiate reduced rent on the building he rents from the town. “At this point,” he said Thursday, “we’re fighting a losing battle. If I lose another $100,000 next year, I can’t afford to stay in business.” The new 30 percent cut in the supply of fluke — also called summer flounder — was announced Aug. 15 by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, which regulates fluke and other species for the East Coast along with a larger body, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, but the council basically has the controlling authority. Read the story here 11:14

NESC AGAIN is Questioned, Criticized as Mid Atlantic Council Cuts Fluke by more than 26 percent

Fluke Summer FlounderIt could have been worse. The initial proposal announced in July called for a 43 percent reduction. A lot of theories were thrown around at the meeting, ranging from illegal harvests to dogfish shark predation.Some wanted the panels’ science and statistical committees to take another look, which was part of the motions by Fote and Kaelin. Greg DiDomenico, director of the Cape May-based Garden State Seafood Association, said more than one-third of the time, new stock assessments show the older ones were wrong. Read the rest here 19:42

Flounder cuts may be phased in following another questionable NOAA NESC stock assessment.

NOAA ScientistA widely attacked proposal to reduce summer flounder catches by 43 percent next year may be replaced by one that phases in the cutbacks over three years. Koeneke, who has suffered increasing restrictions over the years _ the minimum fish size going from 13 inches in 1985 to 18 inches today _ doesn’t accept the science. “I’m convinced they don’t know what they’re talking about. We see a lot of flounder. We raised the (size) limit and saved a lot of fish. It looks like it recovered and then the next year they say we have a problem,” said Koeneke. Read the rest here 08:29

Next Year Will Be Awful Or Very Awful For Fluke Fisherman

Unless regulators provide a less abrupt alternative, the amount of fluke caught by Fluke Summer Flounder could be nearly cut in half by next year — a sudden drop that might seriously wound the charter fishing fleet in Sheepshead Bay. Captain Anthony DiLernia, one of New York’s representatives in the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, said lower-than-expected fluke stocks found during the fish population surveys will require slashing quotas by as much as 45 percent next season. However, DiLernia said the council is considering,,, Read the rest here 12:19

New Mid Atlantic Council recommendation revises fluke cuts

Fluke Summer FlounderA memo released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council staff on Friday revised the earlier recommended fluke cuts downward from 43 percent to 25 percent for 2016. In making the revision, the Council staff recognized the substantial negative impact such a reduction would have on the recreational and commercial fisheries, the seafood industry and markets and fishing communities they support. Instead of the one-year plan called for in its initial memo, the Council staff is recommending a “phased in” approach,,, Read the rest here 11:57

Governor Cuomo Calls For Fair and Gradual Changes to Summer Flounder Fishery

Fluke Summer FlounderGovernor Cuomo called on the Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council to reevaluate a potential 43 percent fluke harvest reduction for New York in 2016. The potential reduction would negatively affect both commercial and recreational fisheries in New York State. The potential reductions are based on several consecutive years of lower than average reproductive success and not as a result of overharvest in New York or elsewhere on the coast. Read the rest here 10:09

Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council Ready To SLASH Fluke Catch Quota

Fluke Summer FlounderA dramatic collapse in the reproduction of summer flounder off the East Coast may mean a sharp cut in the catch quota for both commercial and recreational fishermen next summer, according to a science committee on the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. But a 43-percent cut in the quota has been proposed for a late July meeting of the council, when a decision is expected at that time. That would reduce this year’s quota of roughly 22 million pounds to just 12 million pounds next year. Read the rest here 17:10

Summer flounder won’t stand up and be counted – Fighting for fluke

Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund  is working with scientists from Cornell, Rutgers and other universities, along with the National Marine Fisheries Service, to develop a more comprehensive summer flounder model that more accurately portrays the size and composition of the fishery,,,  more females are caught in the recreational fishery as opposed to the commercial side. It might have to do with where commercial fishing is done or “it might be that females are more willing to bite bait,” said Munroe. “There could be all kinds of reasons.” Read the rest here 12:01

North Bound Fluke migration puts regulators in gear

As Summer Flounder, or fluke, migrate northward away from the past population center off North Carolina, fisheries regulators have taken the first steps toward reworking the rules to cope with industry and political pressure. <Read more here> 06:47

Summer flounder stirs north-south climate change battle.

Editor’s Note: “Climate at Your Doorstep” is an effort by The Daily Climate to highlight stories about climate change impacts happening now.  The summer flounder – one of the most sought-after catches on the U.S. East Coast – is stirring up a climate change battle as it glides through the sand and grasses at the bottom of a warming North Atlantic. Read more here  10:11

Charles Schumer: Senate bill would fix fluke fishing rules

Provisions from Schumer’s bill that will be added to Senate reauthorization of the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation Act include: A mandate for a new plan for management of the fluke fishery based on “best available science,” instead of outdated or flawed fisheries data. Consideration of the migratory movement of fluke in allocating commercial and recreational catch quotas. Read more here newsday 09:32

Fluke Fight. New Jersey fights New York’s efforts to take summer flounder

New Jersey fluke fishermen claim New York is trying to take their fish. The border war of sorts has been going on for several years but appears to finally be heading toward a vote on the issue in February. New Jersey has the bulk of the quota for fluke, also known as summer flounder, on the East Coast. New York is No. 2 and wants to increase its harvest. “It’s New York looking at extra fish we have in New Jersey. It’s as simple as that,” said Tom Fote, of the Toms River-based Jersey Coast Anglers Association. Read more@pressofatlanticcity  13:17

Fluke Time

If you love eating fresh-caught fluke you should rush to the fish market and buy it today. Today is the last day commercial fishermen are permitted to land and sell fluke. After today the only options are to catch it yourself or befriend a recreational angler. Fluke, also called summer flounder, is a Vineyard success story. more@vineyardgazette  09:49

The Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council (RIMFC) held meeting in preparation of November 8, 2012 public hearing

Captain Dave Monti. The Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council (RIMFC) held commercial fluke (summer flounder), scup/black sea bass and herring advisory panel meetings on October 2 in preparation for a Thursday, November 8, 2012 public hearing.  The purpose of the advisory panels is to provide industry (fishermen) and the general public with the opportunity to offer input and proposals to be considered at public hearing.

Advisory panels reviewed Department of Environmental Management (DEM) presentations on stock assessment, historical fishing activity and allocations. The November 8th public hearing on proposed management plan changes is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. at the University of Rhode Island, Graduate School of Oceanography, Corless Auditorium, South Ferry Road, Narragansett, RI.  Commercial and recreational fishermen are urged to attend and provide input on proposals.

http://www.warwickonline.com/stories/Fishing-advisory-panels-meet-on-management-plans,76027?town_id=1&sub_type=stories