‘This is a very important fishery for us’: What SC is doing to save flounder population

In retrospect, 2019 was the year biologists across the Southeast, including South Carolina, concluded the flounder population in the region, and the state, is simply in bad shape.

Now, 2020 is shaping up to be the year biologists in South Carolina will determine a course of action to help rebuild that population.

It will be another year, and then some, before anglers in the Palmetto State can expect any changes in the current flounder regulations to go into effect.

But rest assured, changes are forthcoming.

A comprehensive regional study in 2019 concluded numbers of southern flounder along the four-state Southeast coast including North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida are at historically low levels.

The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission responded to the regional study by closing the recreational and commercial harvest of flounder in N.C. waters beginning on Sept. 4, 2019. The commercial harvest reopened soon thereafter, but flounder currently must be released by recreational fishermen in North Carolina.

Such an action was and is not possible in South Carolina since the S.C. Legislature must approve any changes to fisheries laws.

On the heels of the regional study, biologists from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources took a close look at flounder stocks in the state and the results were just as alarming.

The study found flounder numbers in the state are at the lowest since the agency began keeping records.

For now, S.C. DNR is gathering public input and considering potential management options for flounder.

As of Friday, an online survey was still available for anglers and residents to participate in regarding flounder in South Carolina, at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2V2VRV5.

“We want to understand what the fisherman’s view of the fishery is,” said Mel Bell, director of the Office of Fisheries Management for S.C. DNR. “This is a very important fishery for us, it sometimes ranks as the most popular inshore fish. We want to make sure we get this right, make sure we totally run this though the public.”

Bell, who is also the vice-chairman of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, noted another public survey will be offered in the coming months.

“We want a more robust survey effort for our recreational fishermen,” said Bell.”A larger-scale outreach and survey. Then we will discuss specific options with the approach to take.”

Later this year, a management plan for flounder will be crafted and eventually presented to the S.C. Legislature during the 2021 legislative session.

“The plan we had in mind is the 2021 track in the legislature rather than this year,” said Bell. “Let’s be prepared to go next session. That’s the course we’re on at the moment. It’s a logical approach, given what’s at stake is the future of flounder in South Carolina.

“We need to have a definite answer by December so it can be turned into legislation.”

• Several management options will be considered:
• Increase minimum size limit
• Implement slot limit
• Decrease daily bag limit per person
• Decrease boat limit
• Implement a fishing season, a time period during which it is legal to harvest flounder.

The new laws for flounder could wind up being any combination of these management options.

The decline of the flounder population in South Carolina is attributed to very liberal limits, combined with an exploding human population in the state, especially in the coastal areas. More people means more fishermen.

The limits on flounder in South Carolina waters currently are 10 per person per day with a boat limit of 20 per day, with a 15-inch minimum size limit.

“The total number of people South Carolina issues saltwater fishing privileges to is over 450,000,” said Bell. “Thank goodness they don’t all go flounder fishing at once. People like to talk about 30, 40, 50 years ago in terms of how good the fishing might have been back then. It may have been, but there were fewer fishermen, way fewer fishermen. That’s the number we have to deal with. In fact, we’re dealing with this in all our fisheries. When you’ve got more and more people and more want to keep a popular fish, like a flounder, we’ve got to divide the pie a little bit more.”