One fish per day: Overfishing prompts limits on North Carolina flounder

Описание: Overfishing has caused a decline in the flounder population, prompting state regulators to impose limits on recreational fishing.
Full story: https://www.wral.com/one-fish-per-day...

Overfishing has caused a reduction in the flounder population, leading the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries to impose management measures including limits to recreational fishing.

The state's recreational flounder season for gigging and hook-and-line fishing runs from Thursday to Sept. 30. The catch limit has been lowered to one fish per day with a minimum size of 15 inches. Last year, anglers could keep up to four fish per day. There was no closed flounder season until 2019.

"Flounder has been one of the most popular recreationally targeted species in North Carolina for generations and now [the state's] mismanagement has led us to the point where the public just doesn't have access," said David Sneed, executive director of the Coastal Conservation Association of North Carolina, an organization that says the chronic decline of the flounder population was caused by North Carolina's failure to prevent overharvesting, primarily by the commercial sector.

The state says the overfished status is a mixture of habitat issues, other environmental issues such as water quality, removals from the commercial and recreational fisheries, and a low amount of young fish entering the fishery.

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