ASMFC, MAFMC to hold joint meetings on new fluke quota management ideas

WASHINGTON, DC – The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) are working together to develop a “Comprehensive Summer Flounder Management Amendment.”

Together, they are planning to hold at least 10 public comment sessions this fall to gather input on a scoping document that will outline potential changes to existing state and federal fluke rules, including the possible reallocation of quota between commercial and recreational fisheries and changes to the state-by-state commercial quota allocation process.

Since there is a single fishery management plan (FMP) jointly managed by ASMFC and the council, and to avoid confusion and duplication, the agencies have combined the public information document (PID) required by ASMFC and the scoping document used by the council.

The draft PID/scoping document notes that this is the public’s earliest “opportunity to inform the council and commission about changes observed in the fishery, things the public feels should or should not be done in terms of management, regulation, enforcement, research, development, enhancement, and any other concerns the public has about the resource or the fishery.”