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Despite what you may have read last week, as usual Newsday reporter jumped the gun again and spoke about things they do not know about. Whether it is Mark Harrington or Tom Schlichter, they always seem to jump the gun on something they should have held on to for a while...or worse...get this stuff wrong. And it happens all the time.

If you read the ASMFC statement is says nothing about NY’s fluke reg’s being set or how long the season will be or even the size limits. It only says the ASMFC has approved regional management which means bordering states will now have the same reg’s. What they will be is anybody’s guess and in my calls to the DEC on Thursday they said the same thing. The managing agencies still have to get together and decide on size and bag limits and season length. Will they be better than 2013 or the past 10 years...probably, but until then the 2014 Fluke reg’s right now are the SAME as 2013...period! Here is he ASMFC release...

ASMFC Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Board Approves Regional Management for 2014 Recreational Summer Flounder and Black Sea Bass Fisheries

Alexandria, VA –The Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board approved Addendum XXV to the Summer Flounder and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan, establishing regional recreational management for both species for the 2014 fishing year. For summer flounder, the Addendum creates management measures by region with the intent of providing more equity in recreational harvest opportunities along the coast, especially between New York and New Jersey. The approved summer flounder regions are Massachusetts and Rhode Island; Connecticut through New Jersey; Delaware through Virginia; and North Carolina. For black sea bass, the Board also approved the continuation of management measures by northern (Massachusetts – New Jersey) and southern regions (Delaware – North Carolina).

Addendum XXV was initiated to address a growing concern that current summer flounder management measures are not providing recreational fishermen along the coast with equitable harvest opportunities to the resource. Its adaptive regional management approach is designed to allow the management program to adjust to past, current, and future changes to the resource and the fishery. Under this approach, all states within a region will be required to have the same possession limit, size limit, and season length. The Technical Committee will work with the states to develop, for Board consideration and approval, measures for each region that will collectively achieve, but not exceed, the recreational harvest limit. The adaptive regional management approach has been approved for the 2014 fishing year only.

For black sea bass, the Board approved the continuation of ad hoc regional management measures by northern (Massachusetts – New Jersey) and southern regions (Delaware – North Carolina). This approach has been used since 2011 and offers some advantages over coastwide regulations, which can disproportionately impact states within the management unit. Specifically, regional measures address geographic differences in the stock (size, abundance and seasonality) while maintaining the consistent application of management measures by neighboring states. States in the northern region will reduce their catch based on the region’s performance in 2013. The Technical Committee will work with the states to develop regional management measures for Board consideration and approval. States in the southern region will implement measures consistent with federal regulations (current recommended federal measures are a 12.5 inch TL minimum fish size, 15 fish possession limit, and open season from May 19 – September 18 and October 18 – December 31). The regulations of the two regions combined will achieve the required coastwide harvest reduction in order to not exceed the 2014 recreational harvest limit. The Board approved the ad hoc regional measures approach for the 2014 fishing year, with the option of extending it through 2015 by Board action.

Addendum XXV will be available on the Commission website by the end of February. For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Well after a nice conversation with the DEC yesterday (3/11) about the 2014 Fluke Reg’s, it seems people jumped the gun again at either Newsday or The Fisherman or wherever you folks have been reading or hearing it’s four (4) fluke at 18 inches. WRONG!! Seems people spend their lives trying to get the jump on us here at The Fishing Line and again it failed. The 2014 fluke story is as follows…

As you know in our newsletter a few weeks back we explained in detail how NY, CT & NJ had to get their fishery management “bosses” together to decide what is best for each state while serving the best interest of us the anglers in each state and those neighboring states.

What happens now? There will be a revote on the ASMFC Addendum because they have to approve what NY, CT & NJ have put forth in order to meet the ASMFC requirements. There are currently about eight (8) plans in the works now for our three states as far as fluke reg’s go. Just as in years past, they put forth many plans whereby they mix and match bag, size and creel limits in order to come up with the same ASMFC reduction in fishing number required to open the season.

One of which happens to be four fish at 18 inches with a 128 day season from say May 10 through just after Labor Day. It could start May 17 and run a week later, but you get the point. You also have to remember that both NJ & CT are going up from last year’s 17-1/2 inches to the 18 inches we’re coming down too. These states never want to give anything back to us if they can help it, so we’ll be lucky to have them do this and agree for all three of us, NY, NJ & CT to be at 18 inches.

Now the wild card is RI & MA who are supposed to have their own area just as the ASMFC has grouped NJ, NY & CT…may go rogue and run each state individually. This could push everything back and throw everything for a loop and change our reg’s if that happens. It could, it might but as of now no one knows. The key is RI & MA need to “toe the line.” No matter what we end up with.

So the ASMFC board meets Thursday, then the DEC speaks with MRAC next Tuesday, however MRAC will not get a shot at all options. The Board meeting may result in a single option, with no alternatives, in which case MRAC won't have much choice. Like I said, this is far from over.

So as you can see NOTHING has been done or set in stone or is even close to being official yet for the 2014 fluke reg’s. What they will be is anybody’s guess…and that is what all these people telling you different are doing...guessing and hoping. However until the DEC announces it to us and you read it on THE FISHING LINE…nothing is a done deal.

If fluke opened today we’d be fishing under last year’s reg’s at 19 inches, four fish and May 1-September 29.

I will keep you posted.
Rich Johnson
The Fishing Line