In early August the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) met jointly with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board to set specifications and commercial measures for summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass. Members of the MAFMC also convened together with the ASMFC’s Bluefish Management Board to set specifications and recreational measures for bluefish.
In terms of summer flounder, the 2023 management track assessment indicated that the fluke stock was not overfished but overfishing was occurring in 2022 which is expected to result in a reduction of the recreational harvest limit (RHL) by nearly 40% – from 10.62 million pounds to 6.35 million pounds – for the 2024 season.
The 2023 management track assessment found that scup was not overfished and overfishing was not occurring in 2022, which according to the table means that recreational fishermen should see an increase in the RHL for porgies in 2024, from 9.27 million pounds to 13.18 million pounds in 2024.
The 2023 management track assessment found that bluefish was not overfished and overfishing was not occurring in 2022. However according to MAFMC the stock was not fully rebuilt to the biomass target. As for black sea bass, any potential updates to recreational bag, size, and season limits for 2024 will be discussed during the December 2023 meeting of ASMFC and MAFMC.
Expect some preliminary discussions about fluke, sea bass, porgies and bluefish when the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council meets on Thursday, September 7 at 5 p.m. at the Galloway Township Branch of the Atlantic County Library at 306 East Jimmie Leeds Road in Galloway. For more information and to confirm the time and location of the meeting call 609-748-2020.
