After being overfished, SC lawmakers put new limits on catching this popular fish

Noah Feit
·2 min read

The southern flounder is one of the most sought-after saltwater fish in the Southeast, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

But the southern flounder is so popular among anglers that the species has been overfished and its population has dropped to historically low levels in South Carolina waters, research from a 2019 study shows.

In an effort to rebuild its population, South Carolina lawmakers have introduced new regulations limiting the size and amount of southern flounder’s fishermen can catch.

Southern flounder regularly rank as one of the top three most targeted fish among recreational anglers along the South Carolina coast. They’re prized for their delicious white meat.
Southern flounder regularly rank as one of the top three most targeted fish among recreational anglers along the South Carolina coast. They’re prized for their delicious white meat.

Starting July 1, the South Carolina General Assembly has ruled that 16 inches is the minimum size required to keep a southern flounder.

The new regulations also allow a catch limit of five fish per person per day and no more than 10 fish per boat on a daily basis, according to DNR.

Previously, the minimum size limit was 15 inches, and the catch limit was 10 fish per person per day and 20 fish per boat per day.

The average size of southern flounder — which are flat and have spots and both eyes on the left side of the body — is 12-14 inches, according to DNR. In South Carolina, the fish is most commonly found in estuaries, rivers, and shallow coastal water including the beach front; and they’ll be in shallow, muddy bottom parts of those waters, DNR said.

Fishermen are primarily onboard with the changes to quickly rebuild the population of the southern flounder, according to a public survey.

“These new management measures will end the overharvest of flounder, allowing the fishery to begin to rebuild,” DNR’s Marine Resources Division director Phil Maier said in a news release. “We’re grateful to the angling community for sharing their vision for the fishery and to the leaders who worked hard to craft this solution. We look forward to seeing this popular fish become a more common catch along the South Carolina coast.”

In addition to the limits put on fishing southern flounder, lawmakers also increased the cost of saltwater license fees. For the first time in two decades, the cost of an annual saltwater recreational fishing license was raised, from $10 to $15.