Outdoors: States need to coordinate fluke regulation
By BOB SAMPSON
Fishery management regulations for summer flounder (fluke) have been like a python — relentlessly tightening its grip on recreational anglers here in southern New England for the past two decades.
Good, bad or indifferent, the fisheries management plans that were put into place back in the ’80s provide the basic guidelines for the restoration and management of fluke stocks.
At the very least, this data has been collected in a consistent manner since the late ’70s and early ’80s by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) through its Marine Recreational Fisheries Survey.
Unfortunately, the computer programs using that information to drive the formulation of fisheries regulations can’t — or don’t seem to be able to — take common sense into account when providing the structure that each state must adhere to.
Herein lies a problem: Guidelines that influence annual changes in state regulations are not consistent from state to state. Thus, from year to year, the situation creates confusion and frustration among those in the marine recreational angling community, who have been taking the hits as the “python” has continually increased its pressure over the years.
Despite the fact that those regulations go to public hearing — where biologists use input from the general public in order to blend the demands of federal mandates with the desires of the fishing public — there is always a gap between these two entities.
In addition, this division between the state and general public is often stressed by politics, Internet sniping, misinformation and a general distrust of bureaucracy.
Guidelines in the form of quotas or catch reductions are set based on management plans, and each state decides how it will meet those requirements within certain parameters.
State by state
States have the option of managing a species on a regional basis, but in the case of fluke, they have opted to set their own regulations in recent years, creating vast differences in seasons, minimum lengths and creel limits throughout the tri-state area.
Due to the ratcheting down of regulations, Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island have all had to install stricter fluke regulations for the 2008 season.
This year, Connecticut has a five fluke daily creel limit per angler with a 19.5-inch minimum length. It’s also set its open season to run from Saturday through September 1. Rhode Island, meanwhile, has an eight fish creel limit per angler with a minimum length of 20 inches and no closed season. New York (which includes Fishers Island) is dealing with a four fish creel limit, a minimum length of 20.5 inches and an open season that runs from May 15 through September 1.
The biggest differences come in Rhode Island, a state that had to reduce its recreational catch by 50 percent this year, but managed to do so with only a one-inch increase in minimum length, adding another fish to the creel limit (it was seven fluke last season) and expanding to no closed season; it ran from May 15 to September 15 last year. Some how that does not seem fair considering the cuts that both Connecticut and New York had to make in their recreational fluke fisheries.
Back in the ’80s, when the state of Maryland refused to comply with mandates to reduce mortality on striped bass through the then-newly created striped bass management plan, the federal government stepped in and slapped a five-year moratorium on striper fishing in that state. It was a strong move that, when combined with a couple banner breeding years, contributed tremendously to the striped bass recovery efforts.
It looks, at least on the surface, like a similar scenario may exist with Rhode Island, whose 2008 regulations appear to be less, not more restrictive as compared to the other two states in the region. Maybe the inch increase in length was enough to meet its requirements, but it sure doesn’t appear that way at first glance.
Heavy hitters
But the thing that gets me and many other anglers who have seen this apparent disregard for the fluke plan, is the fact that Connecticut and New York took heavy hits in their fluke seasons.
Bear in mind, Rhode Island’s pin hookers, rod and reel commercial fishermen — guys who legally sell the fluke they catch — have already been fishing since the fluke first hit the coastline and taking fish that meet the commercial minimum limit of 14 inches.
Commercial fishermen don’t have to follow the 20-inch minimum because of the “commercial license” that costs $400 per year and $50 for a boat registration for out-of-state commercial fishermen in Rhode Island waters.
Essentially, all the fluke recreational anglers in New York and Connecticut will be throwing back can be sucked back up in trawl nets or picked off the bottom by commercial rod and reelers.
Like it or not, fishermen must follow the regulations or risk fines. Be sure to plan trips so that whatever state you are fishing in, if you cross state lines, the fish in the live well or cooler are in compliance with the regulations within that state.
This year, Connecticut has the lowest length limit, so while fishing the Rhody beaches, everything in possession must be 20 inches. If you do any fluking off Fishers Island or across the Sound on Long Island, they must be 20.5 inches. On the way home and inside Connecticut's boundaries is the time to fish for 19.5-inch fish.
Last year, only a small percentage of the “fluke meisters” I know were catching their limits, and if they did — with the exception of one big bait — deep-water angler who exclusively targets doormat fluke most seldom caught their limit.
A recommendation
I’ve said it many, many times in recent years: Increasing the minimum length for fluke, much above 18 inches, may work within a computer matrix to reduce fluke mortality.
But in the real world, conservation of fluke does not take place. In fact, due to the bottom-fishing, baited-hook nature of this recreational fishery, fluke are more likely to be deep hooked than some of the other species that we catch and must release.
During the process of catching and culling, to catch a limit of present day “keepers” at 19 and 20 inches or larger, anglers will be forced to hook and handle two to three times as many fish as they did in the past when minimum lengths were in the more reasonable 16- to 17- inch range.
It’s human nature. Recreational fishermen will fish harder and longer — especially with the high fuel prices — in order to catch their legal limit of fluke as some sort of compensation for the high cost of fishing.
The current median length in the tri-state area of 20 inches is pretty decent fish. Catching four, five or eight of them will be a trick for the vast majority of fishermen. Anglers will have to cull through dozens of small fish if they try to catch their legal limit of fluke, which is within their legal rights.
The problem is, this culling process exposes large numbers of smaller than 20-inch fluke to hooks that can, if set in the wrong place, kill a fish. The more fish that must be caught to achieve a legal limit at such high minimum lengths equates to a proportionate number of wasted, under-sized fluke.
Unfortunately for managers, there is not a large body of fluke delayed mortality data, especially data that is related to the size of fish being released, to draw upon to help make regulations more realistic and rational.
Fish are victims
Increased size limits work well, especially for large predatory species that can be caught on artificial lures in both fresh and saltwater fisheries.
But when you are targeting a species that, for the most part, must be caught on some sort of bait that has a large minimum legal size limit in place, the odds of hurting fish that must be released are changed.
Fluke are aggressive predators with big mouths, so if anglers don’t pay attention and set the hook as soon as they feel a bite, there’s a good chance that an under-sized fluke (that may be 19 inches long) will swallow the bait and be gill hooked, greatly increasing the possibility for delayed mortality.
Over the course of a season, this will translate into thousands of wasted fish.
More fluke would be saved if Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island had a common 16- or 17-inch minimum length limit with a four-, five- or even six- fish creel limit.
A decade ago, when minimum lengths were roughly 17 inches, a couple friends and I would go “fluking” when there was a six fish creel limit.
In two hours, we would catch and cull through 25, maybe 35, fluke to catch the 18 fish we could legally possess.
The new regulations in this region will waste more fluke in the recreational segment of the fishery than they will save. For this reason, there needs to be some common sense injected into fluke management in order for the regulations to work as intended — to conserve, not waste, this precious resource.
By BOB SAMPSON
Fishery management regulations for summer flounder (fluke) have been like a python — relentlessly tightening its grip on recreational anglers here in southern New England for the past two decades.
Good, bad or indifferent, the fisheries management plans that were put into place back in the ’80s provide the basic guidelines for the restoration and management of fluke stocks.
At the very least, this data has been collected in a consistent manner since the late ’70s and early ’80s by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) through its Marine Recreational Fisheries Survey.
Unfortunately, the computer programs using that information to drive the formulation of fisheries regulations can’t — or don’t seem to be able to — take common sense into account when providing the structure that each state must adhere to.
Herein lies a problem: Guidelines that influence annual changes in state regulations are not consistent from state to state. Thus, from year to year, the situation creates confusion and frustration among those in the marine recreational angling community, who have been taking the hits as the “python” has continually increased its pressure over the years.
Despite the fact that those regulations go to public hearing — where biologists use input from the general public in order to blend the demands of federal mandates with the desires of the fishing public — there is always a gap between these two entities.
In addition, this division between the state and general public is often stressed by politics, Internet sniping, misinformation and a general distrust of bureaucracy.
Guidelines in the form of quotas or catch reductions are set based on management plans, and each state decides how it will meet those requirements within certain parameters.
State by state
States have the option of managing a species on a regional basis, but in the case of fluke, they have opted to set their own regulations in recent years, creating vast differences in seasons, minimum lengths and creel limits throughout the tri-state area.
Due to the ratcheting down of regulations, Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island have all had to install stricter fluke regulations for the 2008 season.
This year, Connecticut has a five fluke daily creel limit per angler with a 19.5-inch minimum length. It’s also set its open season to run from Saturday through September 1. Rhode Island, meanwhile, has an eight fish creel limit per angler with a minimum length of 20 inches and no closed season. New York (which includes Fishers Island) is dealing with a four fish creel limit, a minimum length of 20.5 inches and an open season that runs from May 15 through September 1.
The biggest differences come in Rhode Island, a state that had to reduce its recreational catch by 50 percent this year, but managed to do so with only a one-inch increase in minimum length, adding another fish to the creel limit (it was seven fluke last season) and expanding to no closed season; it ran from May 15 to September 15 last year. Some how that does not seem fair considering the cuts that both Connecticut and New York had to make in their recreational fluke fisheries.
Back in the ’80s, when the state of Maryland refused to comply with mandates to reduce mortality on striped bass through the then-newly created striped bass management plan, the federal government stepped in and slapped a five-year moratorium on striper fishing in that state. It was a strong move that, when combined with a couple banner breeding years, contributed tremendously to the striped bass recovery efforts.
It looks, at least on the surface, like a similar scenario may exist with Rhode Island, whose 2008 regulations appear to be less, not more restrictive as compared to the other two states in the region. Maybe the inch increase in length was enough to meet its requirements, but it sure doesn’t appear that way at first glance.
Heavy hitters
But the thing that gets me and many other anglers who have seen this apparent disregard for the fluke plan, is the fact that Connecticut and New York took heavy hits in their fluke seasons.
Bear in mind, Rhode Island’s pin hookers, rod and reel commercial fishermen — guys who legally sell the fluke they catch — have already been fishing since the fluke first hit the coastline and taking fish that meet the commercial minimum limit of 14 inches.
Commercial fishermen don’t have to follow the 20-inch minimum because of the “commercial license” that costs $400 per year and $50 for a boat registration for out-of-state commercial fishermen in Rhode Island waters.
Essentially, all the fluke recreational anglers in New York and Connecticut will be throwing back can be sucked back up in trawl nets or picked off the bottom by commercial rod and reelers.
Like it or not, fishermen must follow the regulations or risk fines. Be sure to plan trips so that whatever state you are fishing in, if you cross state lines, the fish in the live well or cooler are in compliance with the regulations within that state.
This year, Connecticut has the lowest length limit, so while fishing the Rhody beaches, everything in possession must be 20 inches. If you do any fluking off Fishers Island or across the Sound on Long Island, they must be 20.5 inches. On the way home and inside Connecticut's boundaries is the time to fish for 19.5-inch fish.
Last year, only a small percentage of the “fluke meisters” I know were catching their limits, and if they did — with the exception of one big bait — deep-water angler who exclusively targets doormat fluke most seldom caught their limit.
A recommendation
I’ve said it many, many times in recent years: Increasing the minimum length for fluke, much above 18 inches, may work within a computer matrix to reduce fluke mortality.
But in the real world, conservation of fluke does not take place. In fact, due to the bottom-fishing, baited-hook nature of this recreational fishery, fluke are more likely to be deep hooked than some of the other species that we catch and must release.
During the process of catching and culling, to catch a limit of present day “keepers” at 19 and 20 inches or larger, anglers will be forced to hook and handle two to three times as many fish as they did in the past when minimum lengths were in the more reasonable 16- to 17- inch range.
It’s human nature. Recreational fishermen will fish harder and longer — especially with the high fuel prices — in order to catch their legal limit of fluke as some sort of compensation for the high cost of fishing.
The current median length in the tri-state area of 20 inches is pretty decent fish. Catching four, five or eight of them will be a trick for the vast majority of fishermen. Anglers will have to cull through dozens of small fish if they try to catch their legal limit of fluke, which is within their legal rights.
The problem is, this culling process exposes large numbers of smaller than 20-inch fluke to hooks that can, if set in the wrong place, kill a fish. The more fish that must be caught to achieve a legal limit at such high minimum lengths equates to a proportionate number of wasted, under-sized fluke.
Unfortunately for managers, there is not a large body of fluke delayed mortality data, especially data that is related to the size of fish being released, to draw upon to help make regulations more realistic and rational.
Fish are victims
Increased size limits work well, especially for large predatory species that can be caught on artificial lures in both fresh and saltwater fisheries.
But when you are targeting a species that, for the most part, must be caught on some sort of bait that has a large minimum legal size limit in place, the odds of hurting fish that must be released are changed.
Fluke are aggressive predators with big mouths, so if anglers don’t pay attention and set the hook as soon as they feel a bite, there’s a good chance that an under-sized fluke (that may be 19 inches long) will swallow the bait and be gill hooked, greatly increasing the possibility for delayed mortality.
Over the course of a season, this will translate into thousands of wasted fish.
More fluke would be saved if Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island had a common 16- or 17-inch minimum length limit with a four-, five- or even six- fish creel limit.
A decade ago, when minimum lengths were roughly 17 inches, a couple friends and I would go “fluking” when there was a six fish creel limit.
In two hours, we would catch and cull through 25, maybe 35, fluke to catch the 18 fish we could legally possess.
The new regulations in this region will waste more fluke in the recreational segment of the fishery than they will save. For this reason, there needs to be some common sense injected into fluke management in order for the regulations to work as intended — to conserve, not waste, this precious resource.