PROVIDENCE - The Department of Environmental Management will reopen the commercial fishery for summer flounder on Monday, October 23 at 12:01 a.m. with a possession limit of 50 pounds to all commercial license holders.

The action is being taken to enable the Rhode Island fishing industry to fully utilize the quota assigned to Rhode Island by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. DEM manages the quota with a view to keeping the state within its assigned allocation and, to the extent possible, making fish available to commercial fisherman and consumers throughout the entire year. A review of recent catch rates by DEM's Division of Fish and Wildlife shows that the quota of summer flounder allocated to the months of September and October has not been completely harvested.

The possession limit will increase to 300 pounds on November 1 as that marks the beginning of the next and final quota period for the year.