NC won’t allow recreational flounder fishing this year. What does that mean for anglers?
Fall fishing season along the North Carolina coast will look different this year, with a first-ever ban on the recreational harvest of Southern flounder.
Instead of allowing one flounder per person, per day, during during a short season as in recent years, in 2024 there will be no recreational season for Southern flounder-fishing in the state.
If cool September weather usually sends you into the surf, onto a pier or out on a charter boat, here’s what you need to know.
Why did NC cancel recreational Southern flounder fishing in 2024?
North Carolina began managing the Southern flounder fishery in 2019 with the establishment of seasons and quotas in response to studies showing flounder were over-fished and that over-fishing was still going on. Along with other Southeastern states, North Carolina aims to limit the taking of Southern flounder until the fishery becomes sustainable again.
State regulators set a limit for the total amount of Southern flounder that could be taken by fishermen or as by-catch by shrimp trawlers, and allotted 70% of the total to fishermen with commercial licenses and 30% to those with recreational licenses.
The management plan has the quotas moving toward parity between commercial and recreational fishermen every year until each has a 50% share of the fishery by 2026.
In any given year, if either group exceeds its quota, that group’s quota for the following year is reduced by the amount exceeded the previous year.
Last year, the state says, recreational fishermen exceeded their quota, and factoring in the loss of fish to by-catch and mortality, there wouldn’t be enough Southern flounder to allow recreational fishermen to catch any this year.
What about commercial flounder fishermen?
Patricia Smith, spokesperson for the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, said for now, commercial fishermen are expected to be able to harvest Southern flounder this year, but biologists still are assessing the fishery.
North Carolina has fewer than 2,000 licensed commercial fishermen, Smith said.
How are recreational fishermen reacting to the ban?
The state estimates that between 1.3 million and 1.5 million people fish for fun in North Carolina’s fresh and salt waters each year. Many of them look forward to going to the coast every fall to see what they can snag from the ocean. A lot of those hope for a flat-faced flounder at least 15 inches long — a keeper.
“We have a lot of angry fishermen,” said Smith, who’s been getting their phone calls since the flounder announcement was made.
Smith said the fishermen she has heard from have several complaints:
▪ the government is over-reaching;
▪ data used to determine that Southern flounder are overfished are unreliable;
▪ and commercial fishermen are largely to blame for the depletion of Southern flounder stock.
Smith said the harvest is monitored in both commercial and recreational fishing, and only recreational fishermen exceeded their quota in 2023.
The N.C. Wildlife Federation weighs in
The N.C. Wildlife Federation commented on the decision this week, with CEO Tim Gestwicki saying North Carolina needs to disallow shrimp trawling in the sounds because trawlers inadvertently scoop up juvenile fish and damage nurseries, affecting Southern flounder and other species.
“Ending the practice of inshore shrimp trawling isn’t the only step that should be taken to address our declining fisheries, but it is one of the most immediately impactful,” Gestwicki said. “That’s why the North Carolina Wildlife Federation is calling on our state legislators to put a stop to inshore shrimp trawling as soon as possible. As we’ve seen with the need to cancel the 2024 flounder season, North Carolina’s most vulnerable fisheries cannot wait.”
Smith said by-catch in shrimp trawling is insignificant, and that existing laws prohibit trawling in nursery areas.
What if you accidentally catch a flounder?
The state asks fishermen to not try to catch flounder just to release them because about 9% of those released will die from their injuries.
If you’re fishing for bluefish or croakers and snag a flounder — and you don’t have a commercial flounder license — put it back. It may not survive, but those are the rules.
This story was originally published June 13, 2024 at 7:30 AM with the headline "NC won’t allow recreational flounder fishing this year. What does that mean for anglers?."
