The 2017 and 2018 commercial and recreational catch limits for summer flounder and the 2017 commercial quota for black seabass have been slashed by slashed by NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries).
Based on the recommendations of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, NOAA has set the commercial quota for summer flounder at 5.66 million pounds (2,567 metric tons – MT) and the recreational limit at 3.77 million pounds (1,710 MT), down 30 percent from the current limits. The 2018 summer flounder catch limits are projected to be 16 percent below current limits, putting the commercial quota at 6.63 million pounds (3,007 MT) and the recreational limit at 4.42 million pounds (2,005 MT).
Meanwhile, the commercial black seabass limit will be reduced by 31 percent in 2017 to 1.86 million pounds (843 MT) as an automatic accountability measure after the fishery exceeded its annual catch limit in 2015. However, a new stock assessment – due in early 2017 – may facilitate an increase in the catch limits, said NOAA.
The recreational harvest limit for black seabass will remain at around 2.82 million pounds (1,279 MT).
