Summer Flounder

Summer flounder is a bottom-dwelling type of flatfish found along the Northwest Atlantic that is most prevalent in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region. Despite characteristics such as high fecundity and early maturation, summer flounder is moderately vulnerable to fishing pressure overall, according to Seafood Watch. Following low population levels in the 1980s and 1990s, the stock has been rebuilding in the United States. A 2015 stock assessment showed that summer flounder are not overfished, but are subject to overfishing. Seafood Watch reports from 2016 gave summer flounder an avoid rating with the exception of the North Atlantic handline fishery, which received a good alternative rating.

Most summer flounder are caught with bottom trawls although bottom gillnets, trap nets, and handlines are also used. The bottom trawls that target flatfish can cause significant damage to the seafloor, but the sandy bottom areas that summer flounder prefer tend to recover faster. In addition, areas of these fishing grounds are off-limits to trawl gears, Seafood Watch reported in 2016. The handlines, trap nets, and bottom gillnets used for summer flounder have much less impact on sensitive marine habitats, causing low concern, according to Seafood Watch.

Summer flounder are primarily caught using bottom trawls, which carries a risk of sea turtle bycatch. Since 1992, bottom trawl vessels off the coasts of North Carolina and Virginia have been required to use NOAA-approved turtle extruder devices in their nets to minimize bycatch. Seafood Watch reported concern about incidental catches of bottlenose dolphin in the trap net fisheries. Several protected, threatened, and endangered species such as Atlantic sturgeon, sea turtles, and marine mammals have been caught in gillnet fisheries.  

Since summer flounder are found in both state and federal waters, they are managed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, and NOAA Fisheries. Management measures include catch limits, reporting requirements, permit requirements, mesh size limits, scientific monitoring and a moratorium on entry into the commercial fishery. Sea turtle catches are also monitored in the southern part of the fishery. A rebuilding plan introduced in 1993 aimed to help stocks recover from overfishing. While summer flounder abundance has greatly increased since then, a 2015 stock assessment showed that abundance remained below the target level, Seafood Watch reported. Generally, Seafood Watch found the management measures for this vulnerable species to range from moderately to highly effective.