Perhaps one thing New York saltwater anglers can reach a common consensus on is that our fluke regulations are flat-out lousy. Regardless of what port you hail from in the Long Island or metro New York area, dockside and tackle shop chatter is bound to reflect a collective distaste over what has become of this popular fishery and the industry it supports.
Compared to neighboring states,New York’s summer flounder bag limit has been notoriously low and, when coupled with corresponding high size requirements, New York anglers are lucky to to take home enough fillets for dinner. Indeed reports confirm that the throwback-to-keeper ratio in New York waters often runs dozens-to-one. The trickle down effect of this disheartening fishing, especially with the struggling economy, is bringing recreatioinal fishing effort way down and stripping local anglers of a favorite summer pastime while hurting tackle shops and charter/head boat captains alike.
If fluke were in peril of being grossly depleted or wiped out there would be far less bitterness over the restrictions New Yorkers are forced to contend with. This, however, is not the case and fluke stocks have rebounded considerably since the implementation of the last Magnuson-Stevens Act amendment in 1996. With that being said, the time has come to throw down the gauntlet with fisheries regulators and demand a fair and equitable portion of the recreational fluke allocation. U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, a long time advocate for fishermen, is leading the march to secure the future of the New York fluke fishery and has been a common voice on the subject over the last decade. On Tuesday, March 19, 2013, the Senator addressed the Senate at their Commerce Committee meeting, with fluke being the focal point, in a hearing titled Developments And Opportunities In U.S. Fisheries Management.
%pullstart%“Despite the fact that fluke is one of the most abundant and popular New York fish stocks, our anglers have been the victim of an outdated management system that gives us a disproportionately small share of the total allocation." – Senator Chuck Schumer%pullend%Mr. Schumer opened his address with a powerful statement that any New York fisherman would adamantly support saying “One thing that we can all agree on is that the fisheries of America need to be governed by two core principles: fairness for our fishermen and an adherence to the best science and data we have available. Unfortunately for New York, neither of those two core principles prevails when it comes to our most prized summer fish, the fluke.” With statistics reporting that one third of all New York recreational fishermen participate in the fluke fishery, deeming fluke as New York’s ‘most prized summer fish’ is right on target. To corroborate his claim, Mr. Schumer went on to verbally acknowledge that “despite the fact that fluke is one of the most abundant and popular New York fish stocks, our anglers have been the victim of an outdated management system that gives us a disproportionately small share of the total allocation”.
In order to firm the notion that there are blatant instances of disproportionate catch allotments, Mr. Schumer highlighted the fact that out of state boats regularly fish for fluke in New York waters. New Jersey, in particular, was focused on as a stark point of comparison. The Garden State is bestowed approximately 40% of the recreational fluke quota whereas New York is left with a meager 17.6%. What’s equally egregious, aside from the allowed landings, is the size limit disparity between the two states. In 2009 this discrepancy was 3 whopping inches; a game changing number that’s often the difference between playing catch and release all day or having a nice fish fry when returning to the dock.
Admittedly, Senator Schumer cites New York’s history of poor record keeping in the past as being largely responsible for these abysmal figures but affirmed that going forward it is not a “scientifically viable or economically fair way to manage this species (fluke) in 2013”. The Senator vowed that he would not allow the issue of our state’s fluke fishery slip by the wayside and will be seeking legislative changes to be made. In previous years he has written to and met with several high-ranking NOAA officials, including former NOAA Administrator Lubchenco and Acting Administrator Schwaab, regarding fluke but this had come to little avail. As the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act looms in the future, Mr. Schumer announced he will be watching the Councils and Commission that convene on fisheries management with the sharp eye of a hawk. In addition, he has secured key players such as Cornell University’s Emerson Hasbrouck and Jim Gilmore from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to act as witnesses on the fluke fishery in it’s past and present history. Perhaps, with this steadfast dedication and fortitude on the part of New York’s senior Senator and his constituents, the Empire State’s saltwater anglers will finally begin to see the change that is long overdue.
