Sex ratio of summer flounder recreational landings in New Jersey: A pilot study

Sex-specific differences in the population dynamics of summer flounder, such as natural mortality and growth rate, require that a sex-structured model be employed in an assessment.  Sex-specific data needed to run such a model are available for the federal survey, however, no sex data are collected on recreational and commercial landings.  Therefore, one primary research need identified in the last benchmark assessment for summer flounder was to obtain sex-at-age data from recreational landings.  A pilot study was initiated in June 2009 to test the feasibility of a sampling program designed to obtain these data.  A total of 1,296 fish were collected from five geographically expansive New Jersey ports and results of the program identified some interesting spatial and seasonal trends in sex ratio.  The fraction female was highest in the south with increasing numbers of males northward and a brief influx of male fish occurred in the middle of the recreational fishing season. Clear geographical and seasonal differences in sex ratio found among ports in New Jersey indicated that a large number of ports would need to be sampled across the entire fishing season in each state to generate an accurate representation of sex ratio for summer flounder recreational landings.