Flounder AC Meeting Tonight and OTSS Meetings This Week
The Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) announced this past Friday (Jan. 24th) that they will hold an in-person workshop tonight (Jan. 27th) to review draft Amendment 4 to the Southern Flounder Fisheries Management Plan (FMP) with the Southern Flounder Advisory Committee (AC). The Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) made a special request to reopen the flounder FMP and begin this Amendment process with the sole intention of increasing recreational access to flounder through an early allocation shift.
The only management issue being discussed in this amendment is moving the 2026 allocation shift of 50/50 up by one year instead of following the plan outlined in Amendment 3, which was just finalized in 2022.
According to the meeting documents, we do not have the 2024 recreational discard or the harvest numbers from the Wildlife Resource Commission inland flounder season. The document also says, “the 72% target reduction has not been met through 2023 due to overages in the recreational fishery.” Also of note, the most recent stock assessment, which was completed last year, “raised concerns, and division staff and partners from the other states decided to not use the new update for management.”
One final quote from the document,
“Even with a shift to 50/50 allocation, a recreational season that maintains the one fish bag limit from Amendment 3 would need to be brief (e.g., between two and four weeks) to maintain allowable landings” and “even with a shift to 50/50 allocation, season closures in 2026 and beyond remain a possibility due to overages.”
One fish bag limit, a two to four week recreational season, and there still is a possibility for recreational season closures? Sounds a lot like current management!
Guess the only real management change they are looking at is to once again reduce commercial landings to achieve the target reduction!
Meeting Information
Monday, Jan. 27th 6:00pm
DMF Central District Office
5285 Highway 70 West
Morehead City, N.C. 28557
Draft Southern Flounder Amendment 4
Increasing Recreational Access Through Sector Allocation Parity
Information on Southern Flounder Amendment 4 Webpage
Observer Trip Scheduling System (OTSS) Meetings
Observer Trip Scheduling System meetings will be held this week in Washington and Wilmington. The meetings that were cancelled last week have been rescheduled for the first week of February.
The new system for scheduling state observers for anchored gill nets in NC will begin as soon as next month. In anticipation of the public release of OTSS, the DMF will be holding multiple one-hour informational question and answer sessions.
Under the new system, people who fish anchored gill nets in the sounds and rivers will have to call-in or fill-out online their intentions to fish one week ahead of time. These meetings will go through sample call-ins and show how to fill out your information online.
Important to note if you plan to fish drift, run-around, strike, or drop gill nets you will not be required to call in to the OTSS system. This only applies to anchored gill nets in the sounds and rivers.
Meeting Information
Tuesday, Jan, 28th 6:00-7:00pm (doors open at 5:30)
NCDMF Pamlico District Office
943 Washington Square Mall
Hwy 17, Washington, NC
Thursday, Jan. 30th 6:00-7:00pm (doors open at 5:30)
Cape Fear Community College
411 North Front Street
Wilmington, NC
Meetings next week will be held in Hatteras, Manteo, and Elizabeth City.
If you cannot attend one of these meetings or have any questions, please contact the Observer Program by emailing staff at Observer.Program@deq.nc.gov or by calling the Observer Coordinator, Christina Bland, at 252-515-5625.
Thomas Newman
Fisheries Liaison
