August 25, 2012 — The 2012 commercial quota for summer flounder, allocated to federal fishery permit holders in Massachusetts, has been reached, the National Marine Fisheries Service announced Friday. Effective from one minute past midnight on Aug. 28, commercial vessels with a federal moratorium permit for the summer flounder fishery can no longer land summer flounder in Massachusetts for the remainder of the 2012 calendar year.
Massachusetts is also closing its state waters fishery for summer flounder at that time because the state quota has also been reached, the fisheries service said. Dealers with federal dealer permits for summer flounder may not purchase summer flounder from federally permitted vessels that land in Massachusetts for the remainder of the calendar year.
Read the full story in the New Bedford Standard Times