North Carolina Gulf Flounder Opens

The limited season from March 9-22 is restricted to ocean waters only, from the north end of Portsmouth Island down to the South Carolina line. Anglers are held to a one fish per person per day limit, with a minimum total length of 15 inches, and may only use hook-and-line gear. This targeted season exists because the state's most common flounder species, the Southern flounder, is in dire straits. A 2019 stock assessment determined the species is overfished and that overfishing is occurring, prompting significant harvest reductions to allow the population to rebuild. The goal of the current management plan is to achieve a self-sustaining population that can support sustainable harvesting in the future. The decline of the Southern flounder fishery has had a significant economic impact. The commercial value plummeted from a peak of over $7 million in 2017 to under $1 million by 2023. On the recreational side, the number of fishing trips for flounder dropped from a high of 1.7 million in 2015 to roughly 414,000 in 2023, with trip expenditures falling from $446 million to an estimated $107 million in the same period. Historically, North Carolina managed Gulf, Southern, and Summer flounder as a single recreational fishery. The creation of a distinct spring season for Gulf flounder is a provision in the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan designed to give recreational fishers an opportunity to harvest flounder when they are less likely to encounter the protected Southern flounder. Correctly identifying the species is critical to avoid accidentally taking a Southern flounder, which would count against the annual quota and could impact future fall seasons. Gulf flounder can be distinguished by three ocellated "eye-like" spots that form a triangle pattern on their backs. In contrast, the more common Southern flounder has dark blotches but no distinct ocellated spots.