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News Release
RI Department of Environmental Management
235 Promenade Street, Providence, RI 02908
(401) 222-2771 TDD/(401) 222-4462
For Release: August 7, 2009
Contact: Gail Mastrati 222-4700 ext. 2402

DEM ANNOUNCES CLOSURE OF SUMMER FLOUNDER COMMERCIAL FISHERY
Summer Sub-period Quota Has Been Fully Harvested

PROVIDENCE - The Department of Environmental Management announces that the summer sub-period quota for the commercial fishery for summer flounder has been reached. The fishery is therefore closed. The fishery will reopen on November 1, pursuant to the fall sub-period quota.

Summer flounder are managed jointly by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and the National Marine Fisheries Service. States are allocated an annual quota based upon historical landings, of which Rhode Island receives 15.7 percent of the quota. DEM, based on advice from the RI Marine Fisheries Council, manages the State’s overall quota by distributing it among three seasonal sub-periods. Landings reports show that the summer sub-period quota has been fully harvested. During the summer sub-period, the fishery is closed every Friday and Sunday on a weekly basis. Thus, while the regulatory filing will legally close the fishery as of 12:01 AM on Sunday, August 9, the fishery is effectively closed as of today, Friday, August 7.

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