‘Floundering’ around for solution to fish’s decline

 

A decreased bag limit, an increased size limit and a fishing closure period, especially during the Southern flounder’s spawning season, could be the ticket for halting a decline in that fish’s numbers.

Art Morris, fisheries outreach specialist for the Corpus Christi office of Texas Parks and Wildlife, presented data concerning a decline in the Southern flounder population by about half between 1982 and 2008 to members of the Port Aransas Boatmen Inc. in early December.

He said a series of meetings were conducted to take public input, and that a fish management package that includes flounder as a cornerstone would be presented to Texas Parks and Wildlife commissioners by Wednesday, Jan. 21.

After that, more public input will be gathered, and a season closure could be as early as next November – it could span a six year period.

Morris said "fishermen have complained" about the declining numbers of flounder that are landed.

The flounder breeding biomass has decreased from 800,000 pounds in 1982 to 400,000 pounds in 2008.

"We feel the flounder population is decreasing because of fishing pressure. Most fishing pressure is in November, when they are spawning and more susceptible to being caught," Morris told the Boatmen.

"We simply monitor the situation, and we’re looking for a public buyin that there’s a problem. We want to address the effect around the fall spawning run," Morris told the South Jetty.

"We presented a closure idea, that’s one possibility," he said.

Morris presented various scenarios for recovering the flounder spawning stock biomass during a six year period.

The most effective closure, and the most disruptive for recreational and commercial fishing, would be a October to December fishing season closure and an increase in the size limit from the current 14 inches to 16 inches.

That could result in more than 100 percent recovery for the spawning biomass, but would result in a decrease in the flounder harvest to 43 percent of the current levels.

Morris, however, said that a threemonth flounder season closure probably would be too much of an impact on the economy of a community such as Port Aransas, which depends on tourism and fishing industries.

A size limit of 14 inches and a November closure could see more than 53 percent increase in the spawning biomass, and would reduce the harvest to 75 percent.

Any action to increase the population over a six year period would see a 95 percent success rate by the third year.

Morris said any new rules concerning the fishing industry would also include grouper and shark, with flounder as the key fish.

Boatmen President Mike Nugent said that a time closure to increase the flounder population is the only thing the state can do.

"It’s a matter of how bad they make it. We understand what they’re trying to do, but make it as small a bite as they can make it," Nugent said.

Richard Gilley, proprietor of the Port A Seafood Co., his family’s business, said he believes it’s the fishermen who violate game laws and take more than their bag limits of flounder.

"Those are the type who are responsible for hurting commercial fishermen and the average Joe," he said.

Gilley said he witnessed the return of the redfish population as a result of size limits on that species.

"You can’t fish them all out. You don’t want to dwindle them down to where no one can catch any," he said.

Anyone who desires to weigh in on the flounder discussion can send email to Morris at art.morris@tpwd.state.tx.us, or to Fisheries Outreach Specialist Tonya Wiley at tonya.wiley@tpwd.state.tx.us.