Founded seven years ago, the Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund (SSFFF) is governed by a board of private anglers, for-hire captains, and members of the fishing tackle industry. The sole focus of the group is developing private funding to improve the science behind the management of this popular fishery, which, when completed, will allow managers to make decisions based on the best possible summer flounder stock modeling and stock assessment tools.
The project goal is creating an assessment model to more accurately portray the state of the fishery. SSFFF is planning to present the results of this effort at the next NMFS Scientific Peer Review. It’s the stock assessment process that defines the overall health of the stock and is the basis for recommendations which result in regulations and catch quotas.
SSFFF is seeking to raise another $25,000 by early summer to complete and deliver the new stock model and they need your help! The total project cost is somewhere between $60,000 and $80,000 and to date SSSFF has already secured most of the funding.
“By banding together with other stakeholders and helping fisheries managers arrive at decisions based on better science, we can do more to ensure a stronger fishery with fairer public access for years to come,” said Dave Arbeitman, one of the SSFFF founders and current board member. “Every dollar helps, and every dollar goes directly to the scientific effort.”
Checks can be made payable to Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund and mailed to P.O. Box 86, Brielle, NJ 08730. You can also go to www.ssfff.net to learn more about the research project.
