New York State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. (I, D, WF-Sag Harbor) today sent a letter to the Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council outlining his great concern over a proposed 43% reduction in summer flounder harvest in 2016. Thiele stated, “The implications and economic tragedies resulting from such a reduction will have resounding negative consequences on the entire East Coast.”

Recent federal stock assessments for summer flounder have overestimated recruitment, underestimated fishing mortality and overestimated the size of stocks. Thus, the Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council is proposing to drop annual summer flounder catch by 43% in an effort to protect the resource.

However, the Assemblyman blames in infrequent, inconsistent, and poor quality data for these inaccurate estimates. Thiele asked, “If management decisions are being based on reduced data, how can we have any confidence in our decisions?” He hinted that if a 2014 summer flounder stock assessment was conducted, which wasn’t due to a lack of federal resources, fisheries managers would have had greater insights into status of the fishery. Perhaps then, more gradual reductions could have been suggested and implemented over the course of a few years, as opposed to one.

“The commercial fishing industry is part of the historic, cultural, and economic fabric of the East End. We must do everything we can to minimize and carefully balance the impacts on both summer flounder and the fishing industry.”

Thiele who represents New York’s 1st Assembly District, and two of New York’s largest commercial fishing ports, Montauk and Hampton Bays, is well aware of the consequences of management decisions being based on inaccurate data. In 2015, he introduced legislation, A.4261/S.2930, which directs the State Attorney General to commence legal proceedings against the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the National Marine Fisheries Service challenging New York State’s quota allocation system because the fishing quotas created are based on old, incomplete and faulty information and data.

In 2015 Thiele sponsored legislation would establish a small business commercial fishing industry advocate and create a small business commercial fishing economic development program in the State of New York. The bill, A.7507/S.5444, passed both houses of the legislature and will soon be before Governor Cuomo for consideration.