If they can close sea bass, they can close fluke. That was the message proclaimed loud and clear by the organizers of the Save The Summer Flounder Fishery Fund [SSFFF] at an emergency meeting held in Manasquan Dec. 1.

It’s not because summer flounder are in trouble – the species stock is solidly rebuilding to the astronomically-high levels set by the federal government – but quotas are being set artificially low and the data used to estimate how many fish anglers catch each season is “fatally flawed,” according to a Congressionally-mandated study, and often shows senseless overages that are nearly impossible to reconcile with reality.

The closure of the recreational sea bass fishery in federal water prompted the organizers of the SSFFF to embark on a new mission, this one even more ambitious than their previous quest to obtain better scientific analysis of the summer flounder fishery to avert a closure this year. As far as fisheries management goes, the organizers say the sea bass closure was a breaking point. And while sea bass levels are at 103 percent of the federal government’s rebuilding target, anglers are not reaping any benefits from years of conservation and tougher limits. Fisheries managers have refused to back off the same quotas that were employed during the days of rebuilding and have used the faulty catch data to argue (successfully) in favor or further cutbacks.

Indeed, at the December meetings of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council in Wilmington, Del., managers announced they would propose just a 60-day sea bass season in 2010 – opening the fishery for 30 days in June and 30 days in September. Additionally, the porgy fishery will also be scaled back, with anglers most likely having their bag limit cut from 50 fish to 10 fish daily. Though a vote on summer flounder regulations nixed a “coastwide” management scheme proposal that would have imposed a 19.5-inch size limit on summer flounder, New Jersey, under what is termed “conservation equivalency,” will still have to cut its summer flounder quota by 14 percent in 2010.

The current debate is centering around what is known as the Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistical Survey, or MRFSS. Under the MRFSS system, rudimentary surveys are taken to determine how many fish anglers caught during recent fishing outings. The data is collected through a combination of “dockside intercepts” – kindly asking anglers to tell the survey-taker how many fish they caught, and what size the fish were – as well as phone surveys where surveyors will choose, at random, phone numbers from coastal communities and continue calling until they find someone who fishes. For reasons obvious to many, the manner in which data is collected for MRFSS is prone to false results, and a Congressionally-mandated study by the National Research Council described the system as “fatally flawed,” adding that the data should never be used to determine whether to close a fishery.

“With the work that’s been done so far, we’ve seen a 40 percent increase in available [summer flounder] quota to anglers since the 2006 season,” said Capt. Adam Nowalsky of Karen Ann II charter boat which sails from Little Egg Harbor. “However, we’re threatened with continuing, tightened regulations.”

Much of that 40 percent quota increase – without it, there most likely would not have been a summer flounder season in 2008 or 2009 – was a result of the work of Dr. Mark Maunder, who was hired by the SSFFF thanks to donations from the fishing public and industry supporters. Maunder crunched the numbers and conducted scientific studies that showed the data held by the federal government on mortality rates and other factors were incorrect.

“Overnight, the stock went from 50 percent rebuilt to 72 percent rebuilt,” thanks to Maunder’s work, said Capt. Tony Bogan of the United Boatmen and Bogan’s Basin in Brielle.
“Fluke are considered healthy,” said Bogan. “They’re not overfished, there’s no overfishing occurring.”

According to Nowalsky, tackling the MRFSS debacle is the next step in the battle to save the summer flounder fishery – and in the process, sea bass and countless others. For the same reason our sea bass fishery has been closed, anglers in the southeast are lamenting the loss of their red snapper and grouper fisheries. Nowalsky cited examples of flawed MRFSS data to prove his point.

“According to [MRFSS] data, over a two-month period, the state of Virginia saw a 982 percent increase in black sea bass landings, while the neighboring state of Maryland, for the entire year, caught just over 1,000 fish,” Nowalsky said. “According to this, it’s like someone took the Berlin Wall and put it up between the two states. It’s just ridiculous.”
Likewise, Bogan referenced a study of MRFSS data which showed sharp catch increases during days when hurricanes were swirling off the eastern seaboard, keeping boats tied up at the dock. Even this year, the data showed an uptick in sea bass catches during the month of June, which was essentially rained out due to weeks of foul weather. Still even more surprising, the MRFSS data showed the private recreational fleet outfished the party- and charter-boat fleet during the month of March, when hardly any recreational anglers have their private boats in the water and the fish are still located 50 miles offshore.

“MRFSS is being used to destroy our fisheries,” said Jim Hutchinson, Jr., of the Recreational Fishing Alliance. “Even though the quota is increased, every year you end up having to give it back because MRFSS says you overfished you quota. It’s like a bad credit card: you’re not paying off your debt because you never pay off the interest.”
For its part, the SSFFF is expanding its efforts to combat the flawed MRFSS data head-on. The fund has hired HDR Engineering, a statistical management firm that specializes in environmental projects, to analyze and possibly refute the data and come up with solutions on how to better apply scientific evidence to management decisions. The work has already begun, with past data being analyzed, said Bogan.

The fund is still accepting donations, and will hold its second annual dinner at the Crystal Point Yacht Club in Pt. Pleasant Borough in April. For more information, visit www.ssfff.org.