Regional and Finfish ACs Meet to Discuss Amendment 4 to the Southern Flounder FMP
(Increasing Recreational Access)
The Northern and Southern Advisory Committees (ACs) will meet this week (Finfish AC meets next week) to discuss and take public comment on Amendment 4 to the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The only action item in this amendment is whether to expedite the quota allocation shift to 50/50 recreational/commercial in 2025 instead of following the plan to shift allocation in 2026 as outlined in Amendment 3.
Although harvest in both sectors, recreational and commercial, has been severely restricted through management, DMF’s own data says the overall number of flounder caught (harvested and released) has remained stable for 33 years!
Instead of fighting over who gets what of a miniscule 532,352 pound quota, we need to be focusing on why overall catch has remained stable in a stock that has supposedly been overfished for 30 years!
To be clear, we are not endorsing the accuracy of the Division’s data—we’re simply using their own numbers to highlight a serious problem. The data being used by the DMF and Marine Fisheries Commission to justify management decisions simply does not support many of the outcomes they have imposed. Chief among them: increasing recreational access and allocation at the direct expense of North Carolina’s commercial fishermen and the consumers who rely on their catch.
The public is encouraged to come to these meetings and make public comment in person at the meetings, online, or through the mail.
March 6 Flounder Article From Glenn
Mail Comments To:
Southern Flounder FMP Amendment 4 Comments
P.O. Box 769
Morehead City, NC 28557
Southern Advisory Committee
Tuesday, April 8th 6:00pm Central District Office 5285 Highway 70 West
Morehead City, NC 28557
Northern Advisory Committee
Thursday, April 10th 6:00pm College of the Albemarle Dare Campus – Room 110 205 US-64
Manteo, NC 27954
Finfish Advisory Committee
Wednesday, April 16th 6:00pm Central District Office
5285 Highway 70 West
Morehead City, NC 28557
If you have any questions, concerns, or comments please feel free to reach out.
Thomas Newman Fisheries Liaison
Reminder for Pelagic Longline Permit Holders
Vessels operating in the U.S. Atlantic EEZ:
- Regulations implementing terminal gear requirements in the Pelagic Longline Take Reduction Plan (PLTRP) contained in 50 CFR 36(d), became effective January 1, 2025.
● Please ensure that all terminal gear on your vessel has been transitioned to hooks and gangions that meet the above specifications.
- Additional information on the terminal gear requirements can be found in the Final Rule 88 FR 36965.
Vessels operating in the EEZ portion of the Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB):
- The mainline length restriction has been in effect since July 6, 2023. Details of this modification are contained in 50 CFR 229.36(e).
- Vessels may set no more than one mainline in the water at any one time. The mainline length can not exceed 32 nm in length, and are subject to the following specifications:
- There can be no more than 30 nm of active gear (gear with gangions or hooks attached) deployed along the mainline;
- A single section of active gear cannot exceed 20 nm;
- If vessel owners deploy more than one section of active gear along the mainline, each section of active gear must be separated by a gap of at least 1 nm, with no active gear (no gangions or hooks) attached.
Example configurations of compliant mainline sets
More Information
- For additional information on the regulatory or non-regulatory measures of the PLTRP, please visit the NOAA Fisheries website.
- If you have any questions or would like to speak to someone about the PLTRP, please contact: David Hilton, NMFS SERO Fishery Liaison (252-921-0142).
