South Jersey Fishing Update. Flounder Size & Limit Under Attack.

Each year it gets worse for recreational fishermen along the South Jersey shore. Looks like flounder fishing is once again under attack by over zealous regulators.

Now they want a bare minimum size of a flounder to be 19 inches long. Last year it was a virtually impossible 18 inches. Based on what experts have shared with ACprimetime.com, most of those big 19 inch flounder are the females…or ‘spawners.’ Very odd that new proposed regulations would allow the females to be caught and not the smaller, more voluminous males.

Regulators claim that the stock of flounder / fluke a.k.a. ‘doormats’, are being depleted due to over-fishing by recreational fishermen. We find that disingenuous, very hard to believe.

Opponents say much of the flounder stock is quite healthy, thank you. WATCH VIDEO > Cutting edge technologies used by trawlers, draggers and other ocean vessels are incredibly efficient at dragging up everything… and more. This includes the unfortunate by-catch like less tasty fish and other sea creatures that inadvertently get caught up in the nets and draggers. When thrown back, many are injured & eventually die.

Cutting the already reduced flounder harvest by 40 percent. Catching biggest flounder is dumb.

A newly proposed 2017 Flounder quota for recreational anglers in Atlantic City, Margate and our South Jersey waters would increase size limit from 18 to 19 inches and reduce number of fish that can taken from five to three.

Most of the HUGE flounder are spawning females. These spawners are needed to sustain the flounder population.

New rules could actually, and counter-intuitively promote a downturn in the flounder fishing stock…when catching 19 inchers. (spawners)

Shep on Fishing
Mike Shepherd & Friends

Dave Showell from Absecon Sportsman Ctr is very happy about the start of striper season. Dave says: even a 18 inch flounder regulation ‘ain’t gonna cut it’.  16 inches is a really good trick ( tough to catch )

Robin Scott: ‘We should all be on the same page about this.’ Environmentalists, shops, anglers, conservationists, lovers of water sports & fishing….

Dune Building, Dredging and Beach Replenishment Affects Fishing.

All dredged ocean front sand eventually ends up in back bays of Margate, often crippling small business like Robin & Ray Scotts Dock.

Bob Leonard Beach Buggy NJBBA Pres was guest on Mike Sheppard aka ‘Shep on Fishing’. Radio show. “Army Corp of Engineers is a government bureaucracy.” Looking for next way of spending money.

Robin Scott of Margate: Little known fact about dredging our seashore sea bottom: Concrete industry takes that sand substrate for construction jobs….but that activity disrupts fishing & sea life environment.

2 thoughts on “South Jersey Fishing Update. Flounder Size & Limit Under Attack.”

  1. Christopher Mozitis says: We have been targeting 18″ Flounders, which are mostly female breeders…and we are wondering why the “biomass” is in decline.

    Fisheries management uses small data samples (no one could explain where it came from) to predict catch amounts and population. I’ve yet to meet anyone who has been sampled. (Some states require fishers to report catches via phone app.)

    Flounder information is outdated and desperately needed.

    Decisions, with huge impacts, are being thrust upon us, even though we understand critical information is not accurate.

  2. Straycat Fishing

    If this keep’s up, it will all be catch and release. This is the master plan. Been going on now for years. When was the last time you saw a fluke boat working in New Jersey. They have NOT. The industry is DEAD

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