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Falling Flounder PDF Print E-mail
Written by Brandon D. Shuler   
Friday, 14 March 2008
DWINDLING NUMBERS: Flounder populations are declining according to state officials and will be the subject of discussion for possible size-limit changes or temporary season closures.
DWINDLING NUMBERS: Flounder populations are declining according to state officials and will be the subject of discussion for possible size-limit changes or temporary season closures.
Options explored to curb species’ downward trend

Flounder populations from Maine to Texas are experiencing downward trends. Anglers and biologists are noticing an absence of flounder in iceboxes, tournaments and gill net surveys. National conservation organizations such as the Pew Trust and state natural resource departments are also witnessing the phenomenon.

The Texas southern flounder is commonly a youngster’s first introduction to saltwater fishing. But in last summer’s Port Mansfield Fishing Tournament, only one lonely flounder made it to the weigh-in.

In fall, flounder make their mass exodus seaward to spawn in the shallow waters of the Gulf with the first downward dip of the thermometer. The smaller of the species, the male, starts the migration when water temperatures drop between five to eight degrees.

Males typically only reach 14 inches in length and live four or five years. The female, whose dropping numbers are most responsible for the population decline, typically reach 7 to 8 years of age and top out at 24- inches, making them the legal target for harvest.

Flounder bury themselves in the sand and wait in ambush for unsuspecting shrimp and baitfish to approach — making them perfect targets for gigging.

Currently, Texas regulations treat flounder as a non-gamefish, maintain a recreational limit of 10 fish per day, 60 for a small commercial gigging industry, and have a minimum length restriction of 14 inches.

Some anglers and biologists feel that since the males are the smaller of the species and anglers usually target the largest fish they see on a gigging expedition, a large part of the breeding population is being killed.

Texas Parks and Wildlife is actively seeking methods to stem the downward trend. In 1988, nets were banned coastwide, a 12-inch minimum size limit was imposed with a bag limit of 20 fish. In 1996, the minimum length was dropped to 10-inches and the bag limit reduced to 20 for recreational anglers and a 60-fish commercial limit was instituted.

The commercial fishing buyback program, which has reduced inshore shrimping by 50 percent, has also helped stem some of the downward trend.

Although overfishing is believed to be the leading problem reducing flounder populations, Fernando Martinez-Andrade, TPW Fisheries data analyst, and biologist Shane Bonnot of Sea Center Texas, along with leading biologists along the eastern seaboard, consider warmer winter temperatures, rising ocean levels, and overall warming to be the largest negative factors affecting the American flounder populations. Larry McKinney, TPW head of Coastal Fisheries, told the Valley Morning Star, “Our winter low temperatures have been increasing. When flounder go out into the Gulf to spawn they may be suffering greater predation of their eggs in the warming waters. The underlying factor may also be flounder as a species are moving north.”

The steady downward trend has TPW looking inward for ways to stem the falling populations. Robin Riecher, TPW’s science and policy director, outlined the methods being explored to CCA Texas members, each having pros and cons.

The most appealing method is to create gamefish status for the flounder, she wrote. But then flounder could only be harvested through hook and line methods, eliminating a valuable part of the recreational and commercial fishery and destroying a part of the Texas saltwater culture by eliminating gigging.

Other options being explored include changing the size limits, or seasonal or area closures. However, Riecher wrote, this could eliminate anglers’ access to the fabled fall flounder runs. What will be done to alleviate pressure on the flounder remains to be seen. “The condition of the flounder population is a very high priority for action in next year’s regulatory process,” McKinney said.

Last Updated ( Friday, 14 March 2008 )
 
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