Stock assessment of Summer Flounder for 2006

"This assessment of the summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) stock along the Atlantic coast (Maine to North Carolina) is an update through 2005/2006 of commercial and recreational fishery catch data, research survey indices of abundance, and the analyses of the data. For 2005, commercial and recreational fishery final quotas were 8,246 mt and 5,434 mt, respectively, for a total of 13,553 mt. The reported commercial landings used in this assessment for 2005 were 7,765 mt, while estimated recreational landings were 4,550 mt, for a 2005 landings total of 12,315 mt. An analytical assessment (virtual population analysis, VPA) of commercial and recreational total catch at age (landings plus discards) was conducted. Indices of recruitment and stock abundance were developed from Northeast Fisheries Science Center winter, spring and autumn, Massachusetts spring and autumn, Rhode Island annual, Connecticut spring and autumn, New Jersey annual, and Delaware annual trawl survey data. Recruitment indices were also developed from young-of-year surveys conducted by the states of North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland"--Summary. by Mark Terceiro. "August 2006." Includes bibliographical refeerences (pages 20-22).