For the first time, North Carolina's commercial and recreational fishing industries are set to split the southern flounder catch 50-50 this year.
That decision was made by the Marine Fisheries Commission last week in a 6-3 vote. After administrative approval, it will take effect in August.
For decades, commercial fishers pulled in millions of pounds of southern flounder a year, with harvests peaking in the 1990s. Recreational harvests were always a fraction of that, typically a small one.
The harvest dwindled as the species became overfished, and in 2019, the state began enforcing flounder seasons and quotas across both industries.
Commercial fishers got a 70-30 split of the fishery initially. Commissioner Tom Roller, a recreational fisherman, said that setup was "antiquated."
"If you go back and you look at the history of this fishery, it was heavily exploited for a long period of time. We are looking at changing that allocation to be more modern," he said.
Commissioner Mike Blanton, a commercial fisherman, disagreed. He said the reallocation contributes "to the paralysis of the commercial industry" without doing enough to expand recreational access.
The commission vote accelerates the transition to 50-50 to help ensure a recreational flounder fishing season in 2025.
State biologists say this year's recreational southern flounder season should last two to four weeks. Since 2022, recreational seasons have ranged from zero to 30 days.
Commercial operations have been allowed six to 28 days a year in that time frame, depending on location and gear type.
'Concerning' bill moving through NC legislature
Meanwhile, lawmakers in Raleigh are considering allowing far more fish to be caught.
House Bill 442 would mandate a six-week recreational season, plus set an annual commercial quota of 750,000 pounds. The total allowable catch planned by the division is 266,176 pounds for each industry.
"This bill is concerning for us for many reasons and I think the No. 1 reason is it just sidesteps the entire fishery management plan process," Kathy Rawls, director of the Division of Marine Fisheries, said in Beaufort. "And there are some things in this bill that are concerning relative to the protection of the species as well."
The bill passed the House on May 7. The Senate has not yet scheduled it for a committee hearing.
Commissioner Doug Rader, an oceans scientist, voted for the allocation shift, but said the division must figure out how to limit the number of flounder that die after catch-and-release.
"Waste, basically, ends up eating up almost all of our allowable mortality. We have got to solve that problem fundamentally," Rader said.
Sometimes, that's done by controlling the style of fishing equipment allowed. Striped bass, for example, should only be targeted with artificial lures or baited circle hooks, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission says, helping ensure the fish survive after being caught and released.
The Division of Marine Fisheries is currently reworking the southern flounder fishery management plan, and aims to pass a new amendment in 2027.
