The Flounder Revolution has begun!

At no point has there been more attention paid to the plight of Paralicthys lethostigma, the southern flounder, and in my opinion, it is about time. Since 1996, I have written more than 200 articles for magazines and newspapers, conducted nearly 100 seminars, and made dozens of radio appearances to raise awareness of flounder conservation problems, which have been ongoing for decades. It has been a long-standing dream of mine to see flounder populations restored to their former glories, and we are on the verge of making that happen. At the time of this writing, officials with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) were mulling over a variety of flounder regulation changes that should be out for public comment shortly.

Last year, we saw a spike in flounder numbers, causing some to believe a true comeback was happening. Is this due to cooler Gulf temperatures, as TPWD theorizes, or the cutting of the flounder possession limit from 20 to 10 two years ago, which has had a great effect on gigging efforts?

Either way, TPWD data show we had increases before, yet flounder numbers continue to fall far below the long-term average, and are down more than 50 percent since 1982. The current increase is exciting, but we need to look at this through the prism of history, not just the latest anecdotal evidence.

We are entering a time of deep controversy, but none of us, me included, should take our eye off the resource and the great pleasure it brings so many of us. That should be the core of all decisions.

To truly help flounder we must change the way they are perceived and recognize the challenging, world class inland sportfish they are, redefining their status and shake things up in flounder management.

Chester Moore
Executive Editor Texas Fish & Game
Founder: Flounder Revolution!