|
Southern Flounder Update
Over the last year, many of you have probably heard about the decline in our southern flounder population, so we wanted to provide our tagging program newsletter subscribers with the latest information as we make plans to rebuild the fishery. Recently, scientists from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida gathered all the available data on southern flounder to perform a regional stock assessment, which looks at population trends and the overall health of the fishery. While flounder don’t typically move all that much within a given season, there is some movement of fish between states over time and mixing of larvae when adults move offshore during winter to spawn. As a result, the flounder between NC and the east coast of Florida are interconnected and considered to be part of the same “biological stock.” The results from this stock assessment, while not totally unexpected, were nevertheless alarming. Southern flounder have been overfished for many years and the population has declined sharply over the last decade.
 South Carolina’s main inshore monitoring programs, the trammel net and electrofishing surveys tell a similar story. These programs sample our estuaries year after year and are our best method for following trends in inshore fish populations. Both surveys are catching fewer flounder and the fish they are catching are smaller on average than in previous years. The bottom line from the assessment and SCDNR’s data is clear: rebuilding the southern flounder population to a healthy, sustainable fishery is going to require a significant decrease in the number of fish harvested. Because our commercial flounder fishery in South Carolina is very small, the solution will need to come from our anglers, who account for over 99% of the state’s catch.
Over the last year, we’ve been speaking with many of you throughout the state to get input as we make potential plans for a rebuilding effort. Another 2,000 of you answered the call and responded to our online survey. Here are the main takeaways:
- Anglers recognize the decline in flounder, stating that they are catching fewer and smaller fish than they have in the past
- An overwhelming majority would like to see the fishery recover quickly
- Anglers support a combination of management options that would get us to that goal
Based on our data and the input of our constituents, SCDNR is recommending that action is taken to reduce harvest and achieve a full recovery of the flounder population within a 10-year period. There are many different combinations of management options that could get us to that goal, but a piecemeal solution is not going to be effective. For example, reducing the bag limit from 10 fish to 5 fish may seem like a way to cut the harvest in half, but in reality, that change would have a much smaller effect. It would only impact those less frequent trips where people were already harvesting more than 5 fish a person (likely someone fishing via gig or a very skilled hook and line angler). To have a real positive impact, a bigger reduction in catch will be needed. We have suggested a combination of options that would maximize angler’s access to the fishery while still reducing catch enough to achieve that goal of a full recovery:
- Reduce the bag limit from 10 fish/person/day to 2 fish/person/day
- Reduce the boat limit from 20 fish/person/day to 6 fish/person/day
- Institute a fishing season from July 1 to October 31
Many of you are probably aware that North Carolina has already made significant changes to reduce their harvest. Those actions are going to have a positive impact on the population, but this is a regional decline that will need a regional solution. As someone who, according to my wife, has spent maybe too much time chasing South Carolina flounder, I’m excited about the prospect of a quality fishery with bigger and more abundant fish and I hope we’re able to get there in the coming years.
While SCDNR monitors our local fish populations and provides recommendations for effective management, we do not make changes to bag limits, size limits, etc. Any change to existing law would ultimately occur within the South Carolina General Assembly. We welcome feedback on this and any other issues related to saltwater fishing. You can contact me; Matt Perkinson, Saltwater Fishing Outreach Coordinator at PerkinsonM@dnr.sc.gov with questions or concerns.
Be on the lookout for our February newsletter, where we’ll cover what we’ve learned about flounder movements from our volunteer angler tagging efforts.
 |
|
DryCase Drawing Winner!
James LaRue is the winner of this month's drawing. Congratulations, James! He will be receiving a DryCase waterproof backpack (printed with our tagging logo).
Drawing information: We hold a monthly drawing with a prize worth over $100! Every active participant will have one entry for that month. You are considered an active participant if you have tagged at least one fish during that month. The drawing that takes place on the first of the month will be for the month that ended 28 to 31 days earlier, in order to allow all reports to come in for that month (for example, the drawing that just occurred this January 2021 was for all active participants in the month of November 2019).
|
 Logan (right) has been a program participant since June 2018 and has tagged nearly 200 fish.
Tell me a little bit about where you're from and what brought you to Murrells Inlet.
I grew up in Florence, SC and I started offshore fishing out of Georgetown in 2000. After residency, I jumped at the chance to join Coastal Dental Group in Murrells Inlet due to the proximity to saltwater.
At what age were you introduced to angling? How did you get hooked?
I started freshwater fishing with my grandfather on Santee and the Little Pee Dee about the time I started walking. I made the transition to saltwater when I started high school. Even though I mostly saltwater fish now, I still love watching a cork disappear next to a cypress knee.
I noticed you do a fair amount of both inshore and offshore fishing. What is your favorite species to catch offshore? What about inshore?
Offshore, I love targeting grouper. Inshore, my favorite is flounder by far.
Can you share one of your favorite fishing experiences?
I enjoy every time I get to go fishing, but some of my favorite experiences have been watching my wife catch her first scamp, dolphin, yellowfin, and wahoo. I can't wait to watch my daughter catch hers.
How does the tagging program influence your fishing?
I love the data we get from the program both offshore and inshore. Releasing fish is exciting because you know you are giving someone else or even multiple people the chance to recapture that fish. But the only way to really keep track of that is by using a tag.
Are there any tips and tricks you wouldn’t mind sharing?
Location, Location, Location. Inshore and offshore, being 15ft from where the fish are staged can be the difference. Also, live bait helps if you aren't quite on the spot. If you aren't catching them, move to a different spot, and try again on a different tide and/or wind.
What would you tell someone who is considering to go fishing for the first time?
Go! You can't catch them sitting on the couch.
Ain't that the truth! Thanks, Logan, for answering my questions and for all the hard work you do for the program!
|
