DEM ANNOUNCES RE-OPENING OF COMMERCIAL BLACK SEA BASS AND SCUP FISHERIES, INCREASE IN SUMMER FLOUNDER POSSESSION LIMIT

PROVIDENCE - The Department of Environmental Management announces that because new annual quotas become effective on January 1 the commercial black sea bass and commercial scup fisheries, both closed for the past two months, will reopen. Also on that date, the summer flounder possession limit will increase from 200 to 1,000 pounds for commercial fishermen holding Rhode Island summer flounder exemption certificates. All other licensed commercial fishermen may possess 200 pounds of these fish, also known as fluke.

Beginning January 1, the daily possession limits per commercial fishing vessel will be 10,000 pounds of scup through April 30 and 9,000 pounds of black sea bass through March 31. These possession limits may be adjusted, depending upon landings. The possession limit for scup will decrease to 1,000 pounds when 75 percent of the period quota is landed, and the possession limit for black sea bass will decrease to 4,500 pounds when 50 percent of the period quota is landed. The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission jointly adopted the scup and black sea bass possession limits under sub-periods as part of their coast-wide federal quotas for the two species.

They also apportioned an annual quota of fluke to Rhode Island of 1.74 million pounds. The daily possession limit for fluke was adopted by the Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council under a management plan that keeps Rhode Island within its assigned quota through the use of sub-periods while making fish available to commercial fishermen and consumers throughout the longest period of time possible. The first sub-period for fluke will end on May 31.

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