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To help the summer-flounder population rebound, the state Department of Environmental Management has unveiled new catch regulations for this year. The summer-flounder limit for commercial fishermen will decrease to 100 pounds per day, from 700 pounds per day. For fishermen in the aggregate-landing program, the catch limit will decrease to 1,000 pounds per week, from 5,000 pounds over two weeks.

Regulations change often during the year, and fishing limits depend on the amount of available stocks, said Mark Gibson, the deputy chief of the DEM Fish and Wildlife Division. The new summer-flounder policy will last the Winter I fishing period, from January to April 30. Additional changes are expected for other fishing periods.

Summer flounder, also known as fluke, is one of the most popular fish sought and is a big business in Rhode Island. Last year, fishermen caught 2.5 million pounds of the fish and earned $5 million, Gibson said. The total amount of summer flounder all Rhode Island fishermen will be allowed to catch this year is about 1.5 million pounds.

Some commercial fishermen say the new regulation will be an undue hardship, while others say the new limit is a necessary conservation measure. Brian Loftes, a fourth-generation fisherman who works out of Point Judith, called the new regulation “ridiculous.” Loftes says he favors conservation, “but you have to make it reasonable.” Loftes, like many Rhode Island fishermen, catches many different species of fish. But he relied on the summer flounder last winter to make money. “100 pounds a day. What will I do with that? That doesn’t even cover my fuel,” he said.

Other local fishermen are in favor of the new restrictions.

Stephen Medeiros, a recreational fisherman and president of the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association, said the new limit was important to rebuilding the summer-flounder stocks. “We’re still getting a major cut, but it won’t be devastation,” Medeiros said.

The DEM also created new regulations to cover monkfish, cod and sea scallops:

Medeiros, who also serves on the Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council, says it is good that the DEM set limits to cod, another overfished species he says he sees reappearing.

Kenneth Ketcham, a commercial fisherman from Galilee who also serves on the council, agreed that the new regulations were needed. He noted that the state never had catch limits for monkfish, cod and sea scallops before.

Breaking any of the new regulations is a misdemeanor offense. Violators will forfeit the catch and be fined up to $500 or spend 90 days in the Adult Correctional Institutions, said DEM Environmental Police Officer Jennifer Connors. In addition, commercial fishermen could face suspension of their fishing licenses.

The new summer-flounder limits were recommended by the fishing industry and the Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council in response to a cut in summer flounder allowed under federal regulations.

During the 1980s, summer flounder was over-harvested throughout the East Coast. Strict fishing limits have helped the fish rebound over the past 10 years, said Gibson, who is also chairman of the Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council.

Last year, fishermen from Maine to North Carolina were allowed to catch up to 23.6 million pounds of summer flounder, according to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which sets the criteria for state governments.

This summer’s flounder limit is significantly lower, only 12.98 million pounds.

Rhode Island’s share of the limit is 15.6 percent, with 1.5 million pounds for commercial and recreational fishermen and the rest for research purposes.

The drastic cut in summer-flounder limits was the result of mandates in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the law that governs the U.S. fishing industry. The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that summer-flounder stocks be rebuilt to 197.1 million pounds by 2010. Currently, the stocks are about halfway to the goal, said Toni Kerns, senior fisheries management coordinator for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

The Magnuson-Stevens Act is up for renewal. It was passed by Congress last month and is awaiting approval by President Bush.

If the law is reapproved, the deadline for rebuilding summer-flounder stocks could be pushed back to 2013. That, in turn, will increase the this summer’s flounder limit to 17.11 million pounds and change the Rhode Island fishing limits.

While the summer-flounder numbers are being drastically reduced, there should still be a local market for fluke.

“It gives us a little breathing room,” Gibson said about the new state fluke limit. “It doesn’t move quotas back to where it was before, but it doesn’t cripple the fishing industry.”

The Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council was careful in crafting the limits so summer flounder could be available during all four fishing periods, Ketcham said. “That was our goal — to keep a steady supply for the year so it doesn’t dry up and people don’t switch to [buying] another fish.”

For more information, visit the DEM Fish and Wildlife Regulations Web site at http://www.dem.ri.gov/pubs/regs/index.htm.

Michelle J. Lee is a fellow with the Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting.