New Jersey State Record Winter Flounder (Spearfishing Category)

The NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife recently announced that Chris Kahler speared a New Jersey state record winter flounder (spearfishing category).

Chris was free diving near a jetty in Manasquan Inlet when he speared the 3 pound, 5 ounce winter flounder which measured 20 inches in length.

In 2014, the NJ Record Fish Program was expanded with the addition of a Spearfishing category for saltwater.

Seventeen (17) species commonly sought after by spear fishers are included in the category.

For more information, visit www.njfishandwildlife.com

NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife

Maryland State Record Winter Flounder

Winter Flounder

The Maryland state record for winter flounder was broken in June with the catch of a five-pound, two-ounce fish.

Twilley set the mark while bottom fishing in 140 feet of water, 26 miles east of Ocean City aboard the charter boat Fish Bound with Captain Kane Bounds.

Captain Bounds called a friend onshore to check the record, which was a four-pound, seven-ounce fish caught by Jeremy Kuhn in 2006.

Back at Bahia Marina, they weighed the fish on a certified scale and called DNR’s coastal fisheries biologist Steve Doctor to confirm the species and the weight.

Marylanders most often catch summer flounder, which have both eyes on the left side. Winter flounder are more prevalent in the Northeast and feature eyes on the right side.

A complete list of Maryland state record fish can be found on the DNR Fisheries website.

source: Maryland Department of Natural Resources

2014 Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic Winter Flounder Recreational Regulations

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Winter Flounder Management Board recently set specifications for the 2014 recreational fishing season for the Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic (SNE/MA) stock.

The season will extend from March 1 to December 31 with a two fish creel limit. This change is an expansion of the 60-day recreational open season.

According to ASMFC, all other commercial and recreational management measures for the Gulf of Maine (GOM) and SNE/MA stocks will be maintained.

source: Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission

Gulf of Maine Winter Flounder Regulations (Recreational)

The ASMFC Winter Flounder Board recently approved Addendum II to Amendment 1 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for the Inshore Stocks of Winter Flounder.

The Addendum modifies the commercial and recreational management requirements for the Gulf of Maine (GOM) stock in response to updated stock status information and recent federal action to increase the GOM winter flounder state waters’ estimated harvest level.

The new regulations will allow recreational anglers to fish on a year round basis although the measures apply only to GOM state waters’ fisheries until June 1, 2013.

A peer reviewed stock assessment of GOM winter flounder was completed in 2011, which changed the stock’s status to not experiencing overfishing, although the overfished status could not be determined.

In response to the new assessment, the estimated harvest limit (state waters) for 2012 fishing year was increased to 272 mt, a 450% increase from 60 mt in 2010.

The Board also approved Draft Addendum III for public comment. The Draft Addendum proposes to establish output controls for GOM state waters for both recreational and commercial fisheries in order to stay within the annually established state waters harvest limit.

Proposed controls for the fishery could include trip limits, size limits, area closures, seasons, and possession limits (to be determined by the Board on an annual basis).

The Draft Addendum also proposes a trigger to reduce commercial trip limits when a percentage of the state water harvest (established by NOAA Fisheries) has been reached.

For more information, visit the ASMFC website (www.asmfc.org) or contact Toni Kerns, ISFMP Acting Director, at 703.842.0740 or tkerns@asmfc.org.

source: ASMFC