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NC flounder numbers

2.4K views 5 replies 6 participants last post by  Surfjunkie  
#1 ·
Carolina Sportsman magazine has a article stating that for 2017, 868,264 flounder were taken by hook and line and 24,136 flounder were taken by gigging. It also states that the southern flounder population has declined to a serious condition and hence the no harvest of flounder. It mentions that less people gig for flounder and gigging takes a very small toll on flounder populations, in the next paragraph it also states that '' the overall numbers just don't add up '' ??? What do you all think? I personally have not seen a decline where I fish.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Gigging is like spot lighting deer in my opinion. Even though it was legal think about how many flounder were gigged and then realized they were to small to keep. Then their just thrown back to die. I’m sure some experienced could tell the difference between keepers or not but I’d say a large amount just gigged and then checked. It’s the commercial netting big and small that rape the waters to kill everything. Last year when the flounder season was closed to fishermen; I seen several small commercial boaters netting completely across the canals where I wasn’t allowed to keep flounder. Now if flounder numbers has been depleted why are they allowed to do that. And you know they catch undersized in the nets. It’s basically a bunch of BS. And the recreational fisherman are the ones to pay the price.