Flounder fight deepens as Marine Fisheries chair reiterates no 2024 recreational season
The war of words, and differing strategies, over a 2024 recreational flounder season in North Carolina waters continued this week, as the head of the commission that oversees the state’s coastal waters said they will be sticking to their original plans of keeping the fishery closed.
Rob Bizzell, chair of the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission, responded via email to a letter sent last week by N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission chair Monty Crump.
Bizzell reiterated his statements in a letter sent July 12 that the Marine Fisheries Commission will be sticking to its plans adopted this spring to not allow a recreational season for flounder fishing this year.
Crump had informed Bizzell the WRC had approved a four-day season in early September in the inland waters, and that the Wildlife Resources Commission decision would also apply to what’s known as “joint waters”, where both the MFC and WRC have oversight of certain species.
Bizzell also said that fishermen who try to keep flounder caught in, or transported through, both coastal and joint waters will be subject to enforcement efforts of the N.C. Marine Patrol.
North Carolina waters are regulated by two separate commissions that are composed of members who are actively involved in fishing and/or hunting, either recreationally or professionally.
The Marine Fisheries Commission, a nine-member panel appointed by the governor, covers the Atlantic Ocean, and the coastal sounds and rivers up to a certain geographic point.
The jurisdiction of the Wildlife Resources Commission, which has 19 members that are appointed by the governor and the General Assembly, includes parts of those same coastal sounds and rivers, known as joint waters, along with all inland waterways.
But the two commissions overlap when it comes to flounder, striped bass, and a few others that spend at least part of their lives in both of their waters.
The Marine Fisheries Commission voted in May to not allow a recreation season for any type of flounder in North Carolina’s coastal waters “in order to preserve the Southern flounder resource”, the commission said in a news release.
A roughly two-week-long season has taken place in September in the northern half of the coast in recent years.
Three distinct species of flounder are found in North Carolina’s coastal waters: Summer, Gulf, and Southern flounder.
While only Southern flounder are considered “overfished and overfishing is occurring” according to NCDMF, the entire flounder fishery has been impacted by the closures, in part, because it is assumed many anglers have difficulty determining which species they have caught.
North Carolina has put strict limits on flounder fishing in recent years, including the limited seasons or outright closures, neighbors to the north and south have been much more liberal.
Recreational anglers in Virginia can keep four flounder per day that are at least 16 inches long before May 31, and 17.5 inches long after June 1. The primary species found there is Summer flounder.
South Carolina allows 5 flounder per person, per day with a minimum length of 16 inches.
Adopted by the commission in 2022, Amendment 3 to the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan set quotas for the recreational and commercial fisheries, based on scientific data, to end overfishing and rebuild the stock.
The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries said in May that estimates from 2023 indicate the recreational catch exceeded the quota allowed in the plan.
There is a pound-for-pound payback if either sector goes over its quota.
During their May quarterly meeting, the Marine Fisheries Commission received an update on the recreational quota available for a recreational flounder season.
After subtracting the recreational overage from 2023, the recreational quota remaining for 2024 is not large enough to allow for a season-opening according to DMF.
The DMF said leftover quota will be used to account for the anticipated dead discards that will occur due to incidental catch and release.
The Marine Fisheries Commission discussed holding a special meeting to consider alternatives to not opening a 2024 recreational season but ultimately did not move forward with that approach.
The MFC did leave open the option of a season in 2025.
Crump said in his July 25 letter that the Wildlife Resources Commission approved a recreational, hook-and-line season for September 1, 2, 7 and 8, with a daily limit of one fish per angler and a minimum size of 15 inches.
Gigging for flounder will not be allowed during that season.
“I was disheartened to learn that the Wildlife Resources Commission is proceeding with a flounder season in inland and joint waters,” Bizzell said in his three-paragraph response.
Crump asked for the recreational/commercial allocation shift from 30%/70% to a 50%/50% split.
While a commercial flounder season remains open in the Atlantic Ocean until September 15 or when the ocean quota reaches 80%, whichever comes first, dates for a commercial flounder season in the sounds and coastal rivers for 2024 have not been announced.
Bizzell did not respond to Crump’s suggestions in his letter sent this week, only reiterating the Marine Fisheries Commission 2022 decision on the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan.
And Bizzell appeared to be adamant that the MFC’s decision to keep the recreational fishery closed supersedes the WRC’s.
Along with the two separate management structures for fishing in North Carolina waters, there are also separate law enforcement agencies that are overseen by the WRC and MFC.
N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission Law Enforcement has jurisdiction on all of North Carolina’s coastal and interior waters when it comes to boating activities. They also enforce fishing regulations on inland and joint waters.
Commonly referred to as “game wardens”, there were 208 WRC officers statewide as of late 2023, with plans to expand the force to 224 approved by the General Assembly last year.
The North Carolina Marine Patrol also enforces boating laws, but their primary focus is recreational and commercial fishing regulations in the coastal and joint waters.
There are just 56 officers in the Marine Patrol that monitor 2.5 million acres of water and over 4,000 miles of coastline.
Despite those challenges, Bizzell told Crump that the MFC’s decision on flounder fishing this year will still be enforced.
“Please keep in mind that when joint and coastal waters are closed to flounder harvest, MFC rule prohibits the possession or transport of flounder through those waters, regardless of where the flounder were taken,” Bizzell said.
“Consequently, Marine Patrol officers will be issuing tickets to recreational fishermen in possession of flounder in both the joint and coastal fishing waters of North Carolina while the no-harvest provision of Amendment 3 is in place,” Bizzell said.
