Dear Summer Flounder Dealer and Commercial Vessel Permit Holder:
This letter is to inform you that the summer flounder (fluke) commercial quota available to the State of Maryland has been harvested.
Effective 0001 hours, August 20, 1997, fishing vessels issued a Federal moratorium permit for the summer flounder fishery may no longer land summer flounder in Maryland for the remainder of the 1997 calendar year. Vessel owners issued Federal permits are also reminded that they must continue to complete and submit vessel logbooks. Additionally, dealers issued Federal dealer permits for summer flounder are advised that they may not purchase summer flounder from Federally permitted vessels that land in Maryland for the remainder of the calendar year. However, Federally permitted dealers must continue to report all fish purchases from any vessel.
Summer flounder regulations at 648.4(b) provide that Federal
permit holders agree as a condition of the permit not to land
summer flounder in any state that has been determined to no
longer have commercial quota available. Thus, as Maryland no
longer has quota available, further landings in this State by
Federally permitted vessels are prohibited for the remainder of
the 1997 calendar year.
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