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Final Rule: Amendment 22 to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan

Overview

Fishing Type
Commercial, Recreational
Action Status
Final Rule
Effective
01/01/2023
Point of Contact
Emily Keiley, Fishery Policy Analyst, (978)-281-9116

Summary

NOAA Fisheries approved changes to the commercial and recreational allocations for summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass. The previous commercial and recreational allocations for all three species were set in the mid-1990s based on historical proportions of landings (for summer flounder and black sea bass) or catch (for scup) from each sector. The Council and Board developed this amendment partly in response to recent changes in how recreational catch is estimated by the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP), which resulted in a revised time series of recreational data going back to the 1980s. This created a mismatch between the data that were used to set the allocations and the data currently used in management for setting catch limits. In addition, some changes have been made to commercial catch data since the allocations were established.

For all three species, these changes result in a shift in allocation from the commercial to the recreational sector. However, because the summer flounder and black sea bass fisheries will be transitioning from landings-based to catch-based allocations, the current and revised allocations for those species are not directly comparable.

Approved Commercial and Recreational Allocations

Species

Base Years

Data Type

Commercial Allocation Percentage (%)

Recreational Allocation Percentage (%)

Summer Flounder

1980-1989

Commercial and Recreational Catch

55

45

Scup

1988-1992

Commercial and Recreational Catch

65

35

Black Sea Bass

1983-1992

Commercial and Recreational Catch

45

55

Bulletins

Amendment 22 to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan

This action implements changes to the commercial and recreational allocations for summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass.
November 16, 2022 -

Last updated by Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office on 11/16/2022

Summer Flounder