2009 NY fluke regulations

[BassBuddah]

Looks like a lot of guys will be driving to Jersey to fish.






NY sets stricter limits for fluke fishing

3/25/2009, 5:38 p.m. EDT
The Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York is setting new recreational fishing limits for fluke to comply with federal restrictions designed to protect the fishing industry.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council required New York to reduce the take of fluke, or summer flounder.
New York is enacting the regulations reluctantly. It filed a lawsuit claiming federal agencies set fluke limits without considering recent significant changes in the fluke population and fishing patterns.





"The bottom line is that antiquated and arbitrary federal rules have tied DEC's hands, and it's going to sink Long Island's fishing industry," said U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat.
"We need one coast-wide system based on the most recent and best available science, not the willy-nilly patchwork current system that is so biased against Long Island anglers and costs our economy millions every year," Schumer said.

The minimum size limit for 2009 will be 21 inches, up from 20.5 last year.

The bag limit will be two fish, down from four.

And the season will be split into two parts:

May 15 to June 15 and July 3 to Aug. 17.


© 2009 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved

[surfwalker]

Are these regs definite in NY? It's crazy- NY/NJ- same waters- different limits. Not even worth going out for them anymore.

[stripercrazy]

Yup, it's real. I predict a lot of captains are going to lose their berths this year with not enough money to pay the fees. Bad science.

[DarkSkies]

So they keep raising the size limits each year, which means you are more likely to be bringing home a female breeder, IF you bring any home at all? What about mortality of the ones you throw back? If ya want to change the # of fluke guys can bring home by reducing the allowable catch, why not let them take a smaller fish or 2, most likely male, home for the table?

This doesn't take into account fluke as a future resource, it just manages them for today. Not the best way to go about it.

[williehookem]

I think it's criminal. They don't have enough DEC officers as it is, and now you know for sure more guys will be poaching. I wonder how they really come up with the numbers each year, because last year we threw back hundreds of short fluke. There was no shortage that I could see, only a shortage of DEC officers.