Editor's note: Part of e-mail from Tom Fote from the Jersey Coast Anglers Association follows. Tom had just returned from an August 8 meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Council that included a vote by the council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission that recommends dropping the 2008 fluke Total Allowable Landings to an all-time low. This is harsh news for recreational anglers, because it likely means that next year's fluke bag limit will be drastically reduced. It's also a stunning blow to the recreational fishing industry, the majority of which believes that the fluke population, a vital fishery for the industry, is healthy and that the government's data are grossly misinformed. The vote was part of the process that will determine the fluke bag limit. Click here for more info. Here's part of the e-mail:

We are going down from 17.1 (million pounds this year) to 15.77 in summer flounder and new all time low. ASMFC and MAFMC voted for  a quota of 15.77 million pounds for 2008 and a 30% reduction in Scup quota. This did not make NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) happy since they want to reduce the quota to 12.90 million pounds.  They was no economic study done on the impacts of this cuts but they have never done an economic study on the effect of regulations on the recreational sector. I always amazes me how congress lets them ignore this standard on M/S Act (Magnuson-Stevenson Act). The also reduce the scup quota by 30%.

Sincerely,
Tom Fote
Release for Tomorrow
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Legislative Chairman
Jersey Coast Anglers Association
New Jersey State Federation of Sportsman's Clubs