2013 Atlantic Coast Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass & Bluefish Regulations

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council have established commercial quotas and recreational harvest limits for summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish for the 2013 fishing season and beyond.

The Commission’s actions are final and apply to state waters (0-3 miles from shore). The Council will forward its recommendations to NOAA's Northeast Regional Administrator for final approval.

For summer flounder, the Commission approved and Council recommended a commercial quota of 11.44 million pounds for the 2013 fishing year, a decrease from 2012 levels. This decrease is in part due to the drop in the spawning stock biomass estimate in the most recent assessment.

For the 2013 scup fishery, the Commission approved and Council recommended a commercial quota of 23.53 million pounds, a decrease of 3.97 million pounds, compared to 2012 levels.

For black sea bass, the Commission approved and Council recommended a commercial quota of 1.78 million pounds.

Finally for the bluefish fishery, the Commission approved and the Council recommended a commercial quota of 9.08 million pounds for 2013 and 2014. The levels represent a decrease from 2012 levels due in part to the poor year classes observed in the most recent stock assessment update. 

The Commission and Council maintained the 2012 commercial management measures for all four species and approved a Research Set-Aside (RSA) quota of up to three percent for each fishery.