### Northeast Fisheries Science Center Reference Document 08-15



# Assessment of 19 Northeast Groundfish Stocks through 2007

Report of the 3rd Groundfish Assessment Review Meeting (GARM III), Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, August 4-8, 2008

by Northeast Fisheries Science Center

August 2008

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-457 J. Southern New England/Mid- Atlantic winter flounder by Mark Terceiro

Additional details and supporting information can be found in the Appendix of the GARM-III Report (NEFSC 2008).

1.0 Background

The current assessment of the Southern Ne w England/Mid-Atlantic (SNE/MA) stock complex of winter flounder (Figur e J1) is an update of the previous assessment completed in 2005 at GARM2 (NEFSC 2005). The GARM2 assessment included catch through 2004, research survey abundance indices through 2005, and cat ch at age analyzed by Virtual Population Analysis (VPA) for 1981-2004. Current biologi cal reference points are based on stockrecruitment modeling conducted by the 2002 Working Group on Re -estimation of Biological Reference points for New England Groundfis h (NEFSC 2002), which indicated that F MSY 

### = 0.32,

SSB MSY 

### = 30,100 mt, and MSY = 10,600 mt. The GARM2 assessment concluded that the stock complex was overfished and that overfishing wa s occurring. Spawning stock biomass (SSB) in 2004 was estimated to be 3,938 mt, about 13% of SSB MSY 

### = 30,100 mt. The fully recruited fishing mortality rate in 2004 was estim ated to be F = 0.38, about 19% above F MSY 

### = 0.32. The current assessment updates fishery catch estim ates, research survey abundance indices, and analytical models through 2007/08.

2.0 Fishery

After reaching an historical peak of 11,977 metric tons (mt) in 1966, then declining through the 1970s, total U.S. comm ercial landings again peaked at 11,176 mt in 1981, and then steadily declined to 2,12 8 mt in 1994. Commercial landings th en increased to 4,556 mt in 2001 before falling to a record low of 1,320 mt in 2005; commercial landings were 1,622 mt in 2007 (Table J1, Figure J2). The primary gear in the fishery is the otter trawl which accounts for an average of 98% of landings since 1989. Scallo p dredges, handlines, pound nets, fyke nets, and gill nets account for the remaining 2% of total landings. Recreationa l landings reached a peak in 1984 of 5,510 mt but declined substa ntially thereafter (Table J2, Fi gure J2). Landings have been less than 1,000 mt since 1991, with record lo w estimated landings in 2007 of 116 mt. The principal mode of fishing is private/rental boats, with most recreational landings occurring during January to June. Length samples of winter flounder are av ailable from both the commercial and recreational landings. In the commercial fishery, annual sampling intensity varied from 15 to 251 mt landed per 100 lengths measured during 1981-2007 (Table J3). Port sampling has generally been adequate to develop the commercial fishery landings at age on a half-year, market category basis. In the recreational fishery, annual sampling intensity varied from 28 to 270 mt landed per 100 lengths measured during 1981-2007 (Table J4). Ages were determined using NEFSC survey spring and fall age-length keys. Prior to 1994, NEFSC trawl su rvey length frequencies and commercial trawl fishery

mesh selection data were used to estimate the magnitude and characterize the length frequency of the commercial fishery discard. For 1994-2007, NEFSC Fishery Observer trawl and scallop fishery discards to landings ratio estimates we re applied to corresponding commercial fishery

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-458 landings to estimate discards in weight (Table J5, Figure J2). The NEFSC Fishery Observer length frequency samples (Table J6) were used to characterize the proporti on discarded at length for 1994-2007. Commercial fishery discard length samples were applied on a semi- annual basis and ages were determined using NEFSC survey spring and fall age-leng th keys. A discard mortality rate of 50% (Howell et al., 1992) was applied to commerc ial fishery live discards. Recreational fishery discard losses peaked in 1984-1985 at 0.7 million fish. Discards

have since declined and reached a low in 2007 of 11,000 fish (Table J7). Since 1997, irregular sampling of the recreational fisheries by state fisher ies agencies has indicated that the discard is usually of fish below the minimum landing size of 12 inches (30 cm). For 2002-2007, discard length samples from the NYDEC sampling of the re creational party-boat fishery and from the CTDEP Volunteer Angling Survey (VAS) have been used to better characterize the recreational fishery discard. Ages were determined using NEFSC survey spring and fall age-length keys. A discard mortality rate of 15% was applied to recreational live discar d estimates (B2 category from MRFSS data), as assu med in Howell et al. (1992). Total fishery catches are summarized in Table J7.

3.0 Research vessel surveys

Mean weight per tow and number per tow i ndices for the NEFSC spring, fall, and winter time series are presented in Table J8. Indices d eclined from the beginning of the time series in the 1960s to a low point in the early to mid-1970s , then increased to a peak by the early 1980s. Following several years of high indices, abundance once again declined to below the low levels of the 1970s. NEFSC survey indices reached near- or record low levels for the time series in the

late 1980s-1990s. Indices from the three surv ey series generally increased during 1993- 1998/1999, but have since declined again (Figure J3). Several state survey indices were available to characterize the abundance of SNE/MA

winter flounder. The Massac husetts Division of Marine Fi sheries (MADMF) spring and fall survey, Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wild life (RIDFW) spring and fall survey, Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (CTD EP) Long Island Sound Trawl Survey, and the New Jersey Division of Fish, Game and Wildlif e (NJDFW) ocean survey trends are summarized in Tables J9-J10 and Figure J3. The numerous state recruitment surveys (MADMF, RIDFW, CTDEP, New York Department of Environmen tal Conservation (NYDEC), NJDFW, Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife (DEDFW)) ar e summarized in Table J11 and Figure J3.

4.0 Assessment

Input data and model formulation The 2008 GARM3 VPA was calibrated using the NOAA Fisheries Toolbox (NFT)

ADAPT VPA version 2.8.0. Commer cial and recreational fish ery landings and discards estimates at age, the total fisher y catch at age, and the total fish ery mean weights at age used as input to the VPA are presented in Tables J12-J17. The followi ng NEFSC and state agency trawl survey abundance indices at age were used in the ADAPT VPA calibration: NEFSC spring trawl ages 1-7+ (Figure J5), NEFSC fa ll trawl ages 1-5 (advanced to calibrate January 1 abundance of ages 2-6), NEFSC winter trawl ag es 1-5, Massachusetts spring tr awl ages 1-7+, Rhode Island fall seine age 0 (advanced to age-1) , Rhode Island spring trawl ages 1-7+, Connecticut spring trawl ages 1-7+, New York trawl age 0 (advanced to age-1) and age-1, Massachusetts summer seine

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-459 index of age-0 (advanced to age-1), Delaware juvenile trawl age-0 (advanced to age-1), New Jersey Ocean trawl ages 1-7+, a nd New Jersey River trawl ages 1-7+ (Tables J18-J26). Survey

indices were selected for inclusion in VPA ca libration based on consideration of the partial variance in an initial VPA trial run including a ll indices, the precision of the survey series, residual error patterns from th e various trail runs, and on th e significance of the correlation among indices and with VPA abundance estimates from the initial trial run including all potential calibration indices. A conditional non-parametric bootstrap procedure (Efron 1982) was used to evaluate the precision of fishing mortality and SS B. A retrospective analysis was performed for terminal year fishing mortality (F), SSB and age-1 recruitment.

Model selection process

The GARM3 Assessment Methodology Review Panel (March 2008) reviewed the 2005 GARM2 VPA with catch through 2004 and a versi on of the assessment implemented in ASAP v2.0.9. The two models provided similar results , and both exhibited a strong retrospective pattern through the late 1990s and into 2001. Th e Panel concluded that the data appeared sufficient for an age-structured model and that negligible error in the catch-at-age could be assumed. The Panel noted that the strong retrospec tive pattern appeared to be transitory as it was not as evident in terminal ye ars 2002 and 2003. The Panel advise d that model results should be checked for the retrospective pattern when th e 2005-2006 catch data were added and that if pattern reappeared, then “consideration should be given to splitting the survey time series pre and post 1994.” Splitting the survey series used in calibration ac ts as a proxy for fishery and biological factors that could have change d in the mid-1990s, resulting in the observed retrospective pattern. The same set of survey calib ration indices as used in the SAW 36 assessment (NEFSC 2003) and the 2005 GARM2 assessment (NEFSC 2005) was retained in the 2008 GARM3 VPA

BASE case. The BASE case continued to exhi bit a strong retrospectiv e pattern, although it was less severe in recent years than in the 2005 GARM 2 assessment. Given the persistence of the retrospective pattern in the BASE configuration, all survey seri es were split “p re and post 1994” (i.e., split between 1993 and 1994, given the ch ange in commercial discard estimation and commercial landings reporting methods between th ese years) as per the GARM3 Modeling Panel recommendation, except for the NEFSC Wint er, NJDFW Ocean, and NJDFW River survey series, which began in 1992, 1993, and 1995, respectiv ely. Under this SPLIT run configuration, the retrospective pattern was somewhat reduced. No significant problems in residual patterns developed as a result of splitting the survey se ries, and the pattern for the NEFSC Fall survey appeared to be somewhat improved (less of a tr end/blocking from negative residuals in the 1980s to positive residuals in the 1990s-2000s, likely corresponding to the change in retrospective patterns; compare Appendix Figures 2 and 11; NEFSC 2008). Th ere was not much change in the pattern of the CTDEP Spring residuals, which c ontinue to show a trend/ blocking in both the BASE and SPLIT run configurations (compare Appendix Figures 6 a nd 15; NEFSC 2008). The precision of the SPLIT run terminal year estimates was comparable to the BASE run estimates. The BASE and SPLIT runs were again cons idered by the GARM3 Biological Reference Point Review Panel (June 2008) and the GARM3 Final Review Panel (A ugust 2008), and those reviews recommended the SPLIT configuration as the preferred run configuration. Subsequent to the GARM3 Biological Reference Point M eeting, the assessment was updated with 2007 fishery catch data and NEFSC 200 8 spring survey indices. The BASE run retrospective analyses

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-460 continue to show a substantia l pattern in both F and SSB duri ng 1996-2001 terminal years, with a reduced pattern thereafter (Figur es J6-J7). Under the SPLIT run configuration, the retrospective patterns are reduced, with a shift from underestim ation of F during 1996-199 terminal years, and lack of a long-term pattern ther eafter (Figures J8-J10). The Mohn’ s rho statistic calculated for the BASE and SPLIT runs ([retrospective year – te rminal year]/terminal year), either summed or averaged over the last seven retrospective years (peels), is comparable in absolute magnitude but opposite in sign for F. The absolute value of th e Mohn’s rho for SSB is about 85% smaller for the SPLIT run; the value for recruitment at age 1 is about 30% smaller (Table J27). Catchability coefficients (qs) from the BASE and SPLIT runs are compared in Table J28. As noted above, times series were sufficiently long to be split at 1993/1994 for the NEFSC Spring, NEFSC Fall, MADMF Spring, RIDFW Sp ring, and CTDEP Spring full age-matrix

series. The NEFSC Winter and NJDFW Ocean and River survey series were not split. The qs for the split series generally d ecreased before 1994, with averag e decreases (when compared to the BASE run qs) ranging from about 50% for the NEFSC Fall survey to 5% for the CTDEP Spring survey. The qs for the spli t series generally increased af ter 1993, with average increases ranging from about 213% for the NEFSC Fall survey to 17% for the CTDEP Spring survey. For the unsplit series in the SPLIT r un, qs generally increased by 1% to 7% compared to the BASE

values. For the NEFSC Spring, NEFSC Fall, NEFSC Wi nter and MADMF Spring survey series, estimates of survey trawl effective swept area we re available to allow calculation of swept area absolute abundance indices (assuming 100% trawl e fficiency). These swept area indices were

then used as calibration indices in the BASE and SPLIT run configurati ons to investigate the implication of the changes in surv ey catchability (q) of these four survey seri es in the SPLIT runs (i.e., are the resulting swept area qs feasible give n the biological and behavioral characteristics of the stock). In the BASE case (1981-2007), the swept area qs are always 0.60 or less; in the SPLIT case (1981-1993, 1994-2007), the magnitude and pa ttern of increases is as indicated in Table J28, and the largest q is for the NEFSC Fall age 4 index, at about 0.9 (Figure J11). These results indicate that the SPLIT run configurat ion provides a realistic model of the population dynamics of SNE/MA winter flounder. However, th e causes for the increases in qs in the SPLIT configuration are unclear, and may alias multiple changes in the relationship between the research survey catch data, fishery catch data, and biological characteri stics (e.g., M or growth)

of the stock.

Based on the GARM3 Panel recommendations and subsequent work, the ADAPT VPA

SPLIT run was carried forward as the basis fo r final estimates, biological reference point calculations, and status determination. Detailed results discussed below refer to the SPLIT run.

Assessment Results The 2008 GARM3 SPLIT run adopted as the FINAL model indicated that during 1981- 1993, fishing mortality (fully recr uited F, ages 4-5) varied between 0.4 (1982) and 1.4 (1988) and then declined to 0.7 by 1999. Fishing mort ality has been in th e range of 0.6-0.7 during 2004-2007 (Figure J12). SSB declined from 14,714 mt in 1983 to a record low of 2,098 mt in 2005, before increasing to 3,368 mt in 2007 (Table J29, Figure J12). Recruitment at age 1 declined nearly continuously from 62.5 milli on age-1 fish in 1981 to 4.4 million in 2003. The 2006 year class of 3.6 million (age 1 in 2007) is es timated to be the smallest on record; the 2007 year class (age 1 in 2008) is estimated to be 8.8 million fish (Table J29, Figure J13).

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-461 The precision of the 2008 stock size at age, F at age in 2007, and SSB in 2007 from the

GARM3 SPLIT run was evalua ted using bootstrap techniques (Efron 1982). One thousand bootstrap iterations were realized in which errors (differences between predicted and observed survey values) were resampled. Bootstrap estim ates of stock size at age indicate low bias (<10%) for ages 2-6; bias was estimated to be greater than 15% for ages 1 and 7+. Bootstrap standard errors provide stock size CVs ra nging from 17% at age 3 to 121% at age 7+. Bootstrapped estimates of SSB i ndicate a CV of 11%, with relativ ely low bias (bootstrap mean estimate of SSB of 3,390 mt compared with NLLS estimate of 3,368 mt). There is an 80% probability that SSB in 2007 was between 2,936 mt and 3,825 mt (Table J29, Figure J14). The bootstrap estimates of standard error associated with fishing mortality rates at age indicate moderate precision. Coefficients of variation for F estimates ranged from 17% at age 3 to 30% at age 1. There is an 80% probability that fully recruited F for ages 4-5 in 2007 was between 0.522 and 0.861 (Table J29, Figure J15).

5.0 Biological reference points

The Working Group on Re-Evaluation of Biol ogical Reference Points for New England Groundfish (NEFSC 2002) estimate d the biological reference po ints for SNE/MA winter flounder using yield and SSB per recruit analys es (Thompson and Bell 1934) and Beverton-Holt stock-recruitment models (Beverton and Ho lt 1957, Brodziak et al. 2001, Mace and Doonan 1988) based on the SARC 28 assessment (NEFSC 1999) . A Beverton-Holt function fit with a prior on unfished recruitment (R 0 

### ) equal to the average of the fi ve largest year classes (1981- 1985) in the VPA time series was selected as the best stock-recruitment model. The yield per recruit (YPR) and SSB per recruit ( SSBR) analyses indicated that F 40% 

### = 0.21 and F 0.1 

### = 0.25.

The stock-recruitment model i ndicated that MSY = 10,600 mt, F MSY 

### = 0.32, and B MSY 

### = 30,100

mt. Both the parametric Beverton-Holt stock -recruitment model a nd the non-parametricempirical approach (YPR and SSBR model combined with VPA recruitment estimates and longterm projections) were considered in the curren t assessment to estimate biological reference points for SNE/MA winter fl ounder, based on the GARM3 BA SE and SPLIT VPA results.

Stock-recruitment data were modeled fo r the 1981-2007 year cl asses (1981-2007 SSB; 1982- 2008 recruitment at age 1). In the non-parametric empirical approach, a long-term (100 year) stochastic projection using the cumulative dist ribution function of the year classes produced when SSB exceeded 5,700 mt was used to estimate MSY and SSB MSY



### . Fishery catch and NEFSC Spring survey m ean weights at age do not exhibit any significant long-term trends (Figures J16-J17). The time series pattern in female maturity at age is stable (Figure J18). Table J30 presents the input values for the YPR, SSBR, and stockrecruitment analyses using average values for 2003-2007 from the GARM3 SPLIT run. As in the NEFSC (2002) analyses, maturity at age 2 was rounded to 0.00 due to the low and likely imprecise estimate of the matu rity of those fish. The GARM3 Biological Reference Point Re view Panel concluded that the prior on unfished recruitment used to fit the parametric Beverton-Holt stock-recruitment model was inappropriate. The Beverton-Holt stock-recruitment model fit wi thout the prior did not provide

feasible results. The Panel recommended the non-parametric empirical approach (YPR and

SSBR model combined with VPA recruitment estim ates and long-term proj ections) be used to estimate biological reference points for SNE/MA winter flounder based on a) the GARM3

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-462 SPLIT VPA results, b) the estimate of F40% as a proxy for F MSY 

### , and c) a long-term (100 year) stochastic projection using the cumulative dist ribution function of the year classes produced when SSB exceeded 5,700 mt (1981-1988 year classes; mean R = 35.239 million fish at age 1; Figure J19) of the SPLIT VPA series to estimate MSY and SSB MSY 

### . Table J31 summarizes the

BRPs for SNE/MA winter flounder.

6.0 Projections Projections of future stock status to the rebuilding dead line of 2014 were conducted with

a stochastic model for recrui tment based on the GARM3 SPLIT VPA results and corresponding non-parametric BRPs (Tables J29 & J31). Mean weights and partial recruitment patterns estimated for the most recent 5 years in the a ssessment (2003-2007) were used in projections to reflect current conditions in the stock and fishery (Table J30). Female maturity at age was based on the MADMF Spring survey 1982-2007 time series (Table J30). Proj ections assumed total

catch in 2008 = to tal catch in 2007 = 1,857 mt, resulting in a forecast F in 2008 = 0.481. For projections to the rebuilding deadline of 2014, the GARM Final Review Panel (August 2008)

recommended a two-stanza recruitment model (Model 15 in the AGEPRO projection software) for SSB levels above and below 5,700 mt of SS B. Recruitment below 5,700 mt averages 11 million age-1 fish; recruitment above 5,700 mt averages 35 million age-1 fish. Projections at F in 2009-2014 = F40% = 0.248 i ndicate a <1% chance that the stock will

rebuild to SSB MSY 

### = 38,761 mt by 2014 (Table J32; Figure J20). Projections further indicate that fishing at F = 0.000 during 2009-2014 will provide onl y a 1% chance to rebuild the stock to

SSB MSY 

### = 38,761 by 2014 (Table J32; Figure J20).

7.0 Summary The Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic (SNE/MA) winter flounder stock complex is overfished and overfishing is occu rring (Figure J21; SPLIT run us ed as FINAL model). Fishing mortality (F) in 2007 was estimated to be 0.649, over twice the F MSY 

### proxy = F40% = 0.248 (Table J32). There is an 80% chance that the F in 2007 was between 0.522 and 0.861. SSB in 2007 was estimated to be 3,368 mt, about 9% of SSB MSY 

### = 38,761 mt (Table J32). There is an 80% probability that SSB in 2007 was between 2,936 mt and 3,825 mt. The 2006 year class of 3.6 million (age 1 in 2007) is estimated to be the smallest on record; the 2007 year class (age 1 in 2008) is estimated to be 8.8 million fish. The 2008 GARM3 BASE run estimates of 2007 F = 0.438 and 2007 SSB = 4,565 mt (and associated 80% confidence intervals) are provided in Figure J21 to illustrate the change in these quantities due to the adjustment provided by the SPL IT run configuration th at was adopted as the

FINAL model for status determination. The BASE run results also indicate that the SNE/MA winter flounder stock complex is ov erfished and overfishing is occurring. An adjustment to the BASE model results using the average Mohn’s rho retrospective change in F and SSB shifts the

BASE results toward the FINAL model results.

8.0 Panel Discussion/Comments

Conclusions The Base VPA for this stock exhibited such a large retrospective pattern that the Panel concluded it required an adjustment. The VPA with the survey time series split in 1993/1994 appeared to reduce the retrospective pattern and was consistent with the GARM III ‘models’

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-463 review. This adjustment was undertaken cons istent with the GARM III ‘models’ review. Though the underlying causes for the retrospective pattern remain unknown, the Panel accepted the VPA with the survey time series split as Final and th e best available estimate of stock status and a sufficient basis for management advice. The Panel expressed concern abou t the uncertainties with the Fi nal run. In particular, the declining rate of sampling of the recreational fishery and the persistent retrospective pattern that was not completely resolved by using the split in the survey time series. The Panel noted that current biomass is extremely low and could remain so until recruitment improves. For this reason, it r ecommended that the stock and rebuilding plan projections be undertaken consistent with th e GARM III ‘BRP’ review but including sampling from the VPA time series of recruitment guide d by the 5,700 mt SSB breakpoint used in BRP

determination.

Research Recommendations The Panel had no specific research recommendations for this stock.

9.0 References

Beverton RJH, Holt SJ. 1957. On the dynamics of exploited fish populations. Chapman and Hall, London. Facsimile reprint 1993. Brodziak JTK, Overholtz WJ, Rago P. 2001. Does spawning stock affect recruitment of New England groundfish? Can J Fish Aquat Sci. 58(2): 306-318. Efron B. 1982. The jackknife, the bootstrap and other resampling plans. Phila Soc for Ind and Appl Math. 38. Howell P, Howe A, Gibson M, Ayvasian S. 1992. Fishery management plan for inshore stocks

of winter flounder. Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Co mmission. Fish Mgmt Rep 21. May 1992. Mace PM, Doonan IJ. 1988. A generalized bio economic simulation model for fish population dynamics. NZ Fish Ass Res Doc. 88/4. NEFSC. 1999. Report of the 28th Northeast Regional Stock Assessment Workshop (28th SAW): Stock Assessment Review Committee (SARC) consensus summary of assessments. NEFSC Ref Doc. 99-08; 304 p. NEFSC. 2002. Final report of the Working Group on re-evaluation of biological reference points for New England groundfish. NEFSC Ref Doc. 02-04; 123 p. NEFSC. 2003. Report of the 36th Northeast Regional Stock Assessment Workshop (36th SAW): Stock Assessment Review Committee (SARC) consensus summary of assessments. NEFSC Ref Doc. 03-06. 453 p. NEFSC. 2005. Assessment of 19 Northeast gr oundfish stocks through 2004. 2005 Groundfish Assessment Review Meeting (GARM) W oods Hole, MA. 2005. August 15-19.NEFSC Ref Doc. 05-13; 508 p. Thompson WF, Bell FH. 1934. Biological statistics of the Pacific hali but fishery. 2. Effect of changes in intensity upon total yield and yield per recruit of gear. Rep Int Fish (Pacific halibut) Comm. 8; 49 p.

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-464 10.0 Tables and Figures

Table J1. Winter flounder commercial landings (metric tons) for Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic stock complex area (U.S. statistical reporting areas 521, 526, divisions 53, 61-63) as reported by NEFSC weighout, dealer, state bulletin and general canvas data.

Year Metric tons

1964 7,474

1965 8,678

1966 11,977

1967 9,478

1968 7,070

1969 8,107

1970 8,603

1971 7,367

1972 5,190

1973 5,573

1974 4,259

1975 3,982

1976 3,265

1977 4,413

1978 6,327

1979 6,543

1980 10,627

1981 11,176

1982 9,438

1983 8,659

1984 8,882

1985 7,052

1986 4,929

1987 5,172

1988 4,312

1989 3,670

1990 4,232

1991 4,823

1992 3,816

1993 3,010

1994 2,128

1995 2,593

1996 2,783

1997 3,548

1998 3,137

1999 3,349

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-465 Table J1 continued.

Year Metric tons

2000 3,704

2001 4,556

2002 3,084

2003 2,308

2004 1,636

2005 1,320

2006 1,720

2007 1,622

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-466 Table J2. Estimated number (000's) and weight (mt) of winter flounder caught, landed, and discarded in the recreational fishery, Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic stock complex.

Year Catch Landed Landed Released 15%

Release 15%

Release
A+B1+B2 A+B1 A+B1 B2 Mortality Mortality

(N; > 000) (N;

> 000) (mt) (N;

> 000) (N;

> 000) (mt)

1981 11259 8253 3154 3007 451 91

1982 10379 8216 3493 2163 324 63

1983 10994 8295 3485 2699 405 127

1984 17410 12441 5510 4968 745 148

1985 17871 13086 5075 4785 718 230

1986 9338 7001 2949 2337 351 66

1987 9200 6857 3169 2342 351 61

1988 10166 7354 3510 2811 422 69

1989 6097 3799 1792 2297 345 49

1990 3845 2487 1063 1359 204 31

1991 4347 2808 1184 1539 231 51

1992 1358 809 387 550 83 15

1993 3184 1879 813 1305 155 31

1994 2067 1203 594 864 80 29

1995 2140 1348 650 792 119 32

1996 2655 1607 714 1049 157 30

1997 1921 1220 627 701 105 31

1998 1008 584 290 425 64 13

1999 1071 658 320 412 62 14

2000 2128 1401 870 727 109 32

2001 1421 892 549 528 79 14

2002 707 408 223 299 45 12

2003 761 572 323 189 28 11

2004 442 344 214 98 15 8

2005 484 215 124 269 40 14

2006 591 273 136 318 48 16

2007 289 215 116 74 11 5

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-467Table J3. The total number of commercial lengths sampled by market category for Southern New England/MidAtlantic winter flounder. The landings (metric tons) and metric tons per 100 lengths are also shown.

Market Category

Year Unclass Large Medium Small Total Landings Metric tons per 100 (mt) lengths

1981 1,904 918 0 1,638 4,460 11,176 251
1982 784 2,932 978 3,348 8,042 9,438 117
1983 927 2,044 1,044 1,921 5,936 8,659 146
1984 551 1,338 637 1,439 3,965 8,882 224
1985 716 1,396 1,663 2,632 6,407 7,052 110
1986 799 1,091 1,024 2,206 5,120 4,929 96
1987 99 1,978 670 2,524 5,271 5,172 98
1988 269 1,250 958 1,731 4,208 4,312 102
1989 106 975 1,220 1,224 3,525 3,670 104
1990 102 1,333 1,180 1,473 4,088 4,232 104
1991 0 917 921 1,220 3,058 4,823 158
1992 402 1,159 1,259 1,343 4,163 3,816 92
1993 62 642 401 1,249 2,354 3,010 128
1994 327 600 644 912 2,483 2,128 86
1995 589 758 225 1,295 2,867 2,593 90
1996 580 764 324 1,027 2,695 2,783 103
1997 201 1,140 1,097 1,614 4,052 3,548 88
1998 942 415 1,325 734 3,416 3,138 92
1999 2,381 700 607 682 4,370 3,349 77
2000 1,553 1,075 942 2,580 6,150 3,704 60
2001 658 2,384 2,222 1,129 6,393 4,556 71
2002 716 1,608 1,099 1,983 5,406 3,084 57
2003 1,037 1,626 692 1,115 4,470 2,308 52
2004 373 1,974 652 1,822 4,821 1,636 34
2005 239 2,283 721 627 4,294 1,320 31
2006 1,614 2,661 1,805 1,408 7,488 1,720 23
2007 3,061 4,319 1,661 1,463 10,504 1,622 15

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-468Table J4. The total number of lengths sampled from the recreational fishery for Southern New England/MidAtlantic winter flounder. The landings (metric tons) and metric tons per 100 lengths are also shown.

Year Landings Lengths Metric tons per 100 lengths

1981 3,154 1,725 183
1982 3,493 1,971 177
1983 3,485 2,587 135
1984 5,510 3,123 176
1985 5,075 2,357 215
1986 2,949 2,237 132
1987 3,169 1,360 233
1988 3,510 1,944 181
1989 1,792 2,810 64
1990 1,063 2,548 42
1991 1,184 1,755 67
1992 387 1,083 36
1993 813 1,288 63

1994 594 948 63

1995 650 767 85

1996 714 936 76

1997 627 752 83

1998 290 1030 28

1999 320 643 50

2000 870 360 242

2001 549 922 60

2002 223 657 34

2003 323 355 91

2004 214 449 48

2005 124 134 93

2006 136 101 135

2007 116 43 270

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-469 Table J5. NEFSC Fishery Observer Program observed trip s in the trawl and scallop dredge fisheries (in SNE/MA winter flounder stock areas) and precision (%) of live discard estimates (metric tons) .

Year Fishery N Trips Discards (Live mt) CV (%)

1994 Trawl 111 650 35 Scallop 56 31 31

1995 Trawl 248 261 33 Scallop 65 57 16

1996 Trawl 216 138 50 Scallop 86 211 15

1997 Trawl 159 105 32 Scallop 63 449 16

1998 Trawl 98 230 41 Scallop 45 115 15

1999 Trawl 123 38 43 Scallop 26 86 20

2000 Trawl 186 137 31 Scallop 140 159 27

2001 Trawl 244 39 35 Scallop 161 17 16

2002 Trawl 248 108 23 Scallop 187 78 51

2003 Trawl 383 69 27 Scallop 138 201 31

2004 Trawl 854 137 20 Scallop 458 31 36

2005 Trawl 1220 126 27 Scallop 406 83 27

2006 Trawl 612 198 21 Scallop 257 103 17

2007 Trawl 902 151 18 Scallop 457 77 16

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-470 Table J6. The total number of lengths sampled from the commercial fishery discards for Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic winter flounder. The discards before the 50% mortality rate is applied (metric tons) and metric tons per 100 lengths are also shown.

Year Discards Lengths Metric

tons (before per 100
mortality) lengths

1994 682 307 222

1995 318 719 44

1996 350 603 58

1997 554 968 57

1998 346 774 45

1999 124 367 34

2000 296 481 62

2001 56 307 18

2002 186 942 20
2003 370 1,185 31
2004 168 2,889 6
2005 210 3,318 6
2006 302 3,942 8
2007 228 4,093 6J. Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic winter flounder2-471Table J7. Total winter flounder recreational and commercial catch for the Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic stock complex in weight (metric tons; mt) and innumbers (000s).Year Commercial Commercial Recreational Recreational TotalLandings Discards Landings Discards Catchmt 000s Mt 000s Mt 000s mt 000s mt 000s1981 11,176 20,705 1,343 5,123 3,154 8,253 91 451 15,76434,5321982 9,438 19,026 1,149 4,271 3,493 8,216 63 324 14,14331,8371983 8,659 16,312 1,311 5,251 3,485 8,295 127 405 13,58230,2631984 8,882 17,116 986 3,936 5,510 12,441 148 745 15,52634,2381985 7,052 14,210 1,534 4,531 5,075 13,086 230 718 13,89132,5451986 4,929 9,460 1,273 4,902 2,949 7,001 66 351 9,21721,7141987 5,172 10,523 950 3,545 3,169 6,857 61 351 9,35221,2761988 4,312 8,378 904 3,729 3,510 7,354 69 422 8,79519,8821989 3,670 7,888 1,404 5,761 1,792 3,799 49 345 6,91517,7931990 4,232 7,203 673 2,567 1,063 2,487 31 204 5,99912,4611991 4,823 9,062 784 2,700 1,184 2,808 51 231 6,84214,8011992 3,816 6,758 511 1,812 387 809 15 83 4,7299,4621993 3,010 5,335 457 1,580 813 1,879 31 155 4,3118,9491994 2,128 4,305 341 1,362 594 1,203 29 80 3,0926,9561995 2,593 4,639 159 561 650 1,348 32 119 3,4346,6671996 2,783 5,235 175 418 714 1,607 30 157 3,7027,4171997 3,548 6,411 277 651 627 1,220 31 105 4,4838,3881998 3,138 5,924 173 462 290 5841364 3,6147,0331999 3,349 7,386 62 158 320 6581462 3,7458,2652000 3,704 6,465 148 354 870 1,40132109 4,7548,3282001 4,556 7,667 28 102 549 8921479 5,1478,7402002 3,084 4,908 93 221 223 4081245 3,4125,5832003 2,308 3,554 185 219 323 5721128 2,8274,3742004 1,6362,42084 214 214 344815 1,9422,9922005 1,3202,014105 243 124 2151440 1,563 2,5122006 1,7202,936151 342 136 2731648 2,023 3,6012007 1,6222,794114 254 116 215511 1,857 3,274

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-472 Table J8. Winter flounder NEFSC surv ey index stratified mean number and mean weight (kg) per tow for the Southern New England- Mid-Atlantic stock complex. Spring and fall strata set (offshore 1-12, 25, 69-76; inshore 1- 29, 45-56); winter strata set (offshore 1-2, 5-6, 9-10, 69, 73). Indices include door and gear conversion factors.

Spring Fall

Year Number N(CV) Weight W(CV) Number N(CV) Weight W(CV)

1963 9.175 33.2 3.874 41.4

1964 13.673 22.1 4.897 19.4

1965 15.537 32.5 4.463 28.7

1966 9.852 31.5 3.310 27.3

1967 9.109 20.6 2.811 18.7

1968 2.444 26.7 0.748 37.2 8.099 21.0 2.218 18.7

1969 5.640 34.3 3.414 53.7 7.065 34.9 2.009 29.7

1970 2.729 30.9 1.326 35.6 5.159 36.1 2.467 47.8

1971 2.035 32.9 0.756 36.2 3.861 17.5 1.231 19.1

1972 1.865 28.1 0.656 32.1 7.687 39.4 3.053 44.6

1973 6.233 19.9 1.688 20.6 2.691 26.9 0.775 25.8

1974 2.439 21.9 0.822 19.3 2.032 31.1 0.822 29.4

1975 0.683 22.6 0.218 20.8 2.196 20.3 0.688 22.1

1976 1.527 16.3 0.432 17.2 2.376 32.2 1.251 42.9

1977 2.084 17.2 0.639 18.6 4.722 22.5 1.735 25.2

1978 3.315 11.1 0.945 13.3 3.743 17.6 1.430 22.6

1979 1.468 16.8 0.575 25.0 10.059 18.4 2.606 15.4

1980 7.550 17.5 1.900 13.6 9.964 31.0 3.216 29.5

1981 9.027 20.9 2.560 16.9 10.206 20.3 3.110 19.9

1982 6.986 20.1 1.918 15.8 4.927 22.8 1.683 25.9

1983 6.262 18.4 2.469 28.0 8.757 37.6 2.690 31.7

1984 5.524 19.0 2.072 28.4 2.681 21.1 0.887 21.0

1985 5.360 17.4 1.983 16.5 2.727 21.5 0.991 21.5

1986 2.266 23.9 0.766 23.4 1.538 21.9 0.487 19.1

1987 1.763 21.3 0.568 17.9 1.167 28.9 0.419 37.8

1988 2.126 19.6 0.730 19.3 1.246 22.4 0.530 27.5

1989 2.485 33.5 0.582 29.6 1.435 40.7 0.341 30.4

1990 1.992 36.8 0.472 33.1 1.979 29.6 0.546 25.8

1991 2.473 15.6 0.692 14.7 1.950 23.6 0.708 25.6

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-473 Table J8 continued.

Spring Fa ll Winter

Year Number N(CV) Weight W(CV) Number N(CV) Weight W(CV) Number N(CV) Weight W(CV)

1992 1.579 23.4 0.435 22.1 2.963 32.4 0.829 31.8 3.680 27.3 0.928 26.0

1993 0.961 19.1 0.219 14.8 1.328 25.0 0.382 25.9 2.590 29.4 0.456 21.5

1994 1.510 26.4 0.329 21.9 4.134 24.8 1.482 27.3 3.797 30.8 1.183 35.5

1995 2.097 23.4 0.592 19.1 2.253 20.7 0.626 17.3 2.221 26.1 0.697 29.1

1996 1.517 14.3 0.428 15.2 3.186 39.8 1.063 45.3 3.778 28.4 0.734 25.2

1997 1.436 22.1 0.399 20.0 7.893 32.6 2.583 26.7 3.906 19.7 1.043 21.6

1998 2.774 20.6 0.845 22.1 6.597 13.6 2.232 9.9 7.169 21.6 1.830 24.1

1999 4.171 16.2 1.245 16.4 3.596 17.0 1.549 16.5 10.328 31.8 3.100 32.3

2000 3.172 26.6 1.123 31.9 6.168 25.5 2.143 26.2 5.571 32.9 1.525 29.5

2001 1.568 14.3 0.581 13.3 4.877 28.1 2.029 28.5 3.096 31.6 0.873 29.0

2002 2.043 15.7 0.782 16.3 8.858 18.9 3.634 19.8 2.901 27.7 1.188 38.3

2003 0.767 11.8 0.267 11.1 3.209 24.2 1.568 27.5 2.199 42.1 0.782 42.0

2004 1.243 27.1 0.442 30.6 3.357 27.6 0.879 27.0 4.336 35.2 0.881 44.4

2005 0.928 28.8 0.306 30.0 3.707 29.4 1.326 32.3 4.045 30.4 1.143 26.0

2006 1.810 20.4 0.465 17.5 2.952 28.7 1.043 29.0 5.082 48.4 1.497 36.2

2007 0.934 18.3 0.350 20.2 3.483 31.9 1.153 30.7 2.794 40.1 1.075 39.7

2008 1.808 18.9 0.642 19.0

NOTE: 1968-1972 spring index does not include inshore strata; 1963-1971 fall index does not include inshore strata.

All indices calculated with trawl door and trawl gear conversion factors wher e appropriate. Winter trawl survey began in 1992 and ended in 2007.

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-474 Table J9. SNE/MAB winter flounder mean weight per tow for annual state surveys.

Year MADM RIDFW RIDFW CTDEP

1978 18.24

1979 18.42 7.72 7.24

1980 15.13 13.57 4.88

1981 16.20 12.13 2.12

1982 15.18 5.23 1.30

1983 20.01 9.52 2.28

1984 14.80 8.43 3.38 15.68

1985 11.79 5.93 3.01 13.91

1986 10.50 6.47 3.12 10.33

1987 9.85 8.14 2.25 11.76

1988 6.73 6.02 1.45 18.28

1989 8.92 3.09 0.79 22.62

1990 5.68 3.07 0.71 29.01

1991 3.01 7.38 0.18 24.59

1992 8.05 0.95 0.42 12.29

1993 8.42 0.22 0.50 10.26

1994 12.93 1.67 0.33 12.20

1995 7.85 6.04 0.89 7.72

1996 9.92 4.45 0.91 20.41

1997 9.89 4.57 0.64 15.53

1998 8.15 5.00 0.32 14.66

1999 4.61 3.66 0.57 10.29

2000 6.26 4.52 0.56 12.63

2001 3.69 3.56 0.28 14.02

2002 1.91 3.29 0.28 10.83

2003 5.00 1.56 0.68 8.87

2004 2.97 1.85 0.53 6.11

2005 4. 14 2. 05 1.08 3.37

2006 3.80 3.45 0.44 1.82

2007 3.82 7.02

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-475 Table J10. Winter flounder mean number per tow for annual state surveys.

Year MADM

F RIDFW

Spring RIDFW

Fall CTDEP NYDEC NJDFW

Ocean NJDFW

Rivers

1978 52.00

1979 54.87 83.76

1980 39.35 63.10

1981 47.80 87.97 25.21

1982 41.46 31.39 18.55

1983 58.14 58.97 17.29

1984 38.02 41.64 19.02 111.96

1985 39.49 34.97 21.44 83.58 4.87

1986 36.78 41.02 31.28 63.65

1987 39.16 56.21 20.90 79.92 6.07

1988 28.36 34.44 10.64 137.59 4.31

1989 27.38 20.88 7.17 148.19 17.02

1990 27.72 20.33 8.83 223.09 12.22

1991 11.02 41.95 1.77 150.20 21.50

1992 28.96 4.40 10.60 61.39 79.11

1993 50.40 2.92 6.65 63.60 31.20 19.17

1994 50. 84 10. 25 2.21 84.44 22.09 14.06

1995 37.37 32.19 7.00 50.12 8.15 30.41 2.82

1996 30.92 20.67 7.79 110.62 19.24 9.40 3.05

1997 38.51 22.28 5.48 71.31 10.99 36.02 3.35

1998 35.88 19.22 2.02 72.91 7.20 18.20 4.25

1999 25.98 13.45 2.80 41.35 10.96 17.79 3.23

2000 24.64 16.32 2.58 45.41 2.61 10.12 2.11

2001 15.79 12.49 2.10 54.50 7.99 13.83 2.84

2002 6.70 11.56 1.45 43.71 0.43 22.58 2.80

2003 17.73 5.56 5.21 27.84 1.40 12.52 1.57

2004 11.14 11.16 4.40 20.46 5.99 14.21 1.27

2005 27.02 15.74 10.38 16.10 25.67 0.99

2006 17.63 15.36 2.33 5.59 18.13

2007 16.68 28.68 18.57

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-476 Table J11. State survey indi ces (stratified mean number per tow or haul) for young-of-year

winter flounder in Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic stock complex.

Year CTDEP RIDFW DEDFW MADMF NYDEC

1976 0.344

1977 0.641

1978 0.366

1979 0.507

1980 0.432

1981 0.340

1982 0.370

1983 0.231

1984 0.323

1985 0.335 1.52

1986 29.00 0.17 0.325

1987 11.60 0.09 0.274 2.65

1988 15.50 8.90 0.02 0.184 1.45

1989 1.90 18.90 0.29 0. 42 1 11.15

1990 3.10 21.50 0.63 0.325 8.53

1991 5.80 12.30 0.03 0.267 14.60

1992 13.70 33.30 0.27 0.294 76.87

1993 6.00 5.30 0.04 0.067 16.99

1994 16.60 2.50 0.31 0.148 14.84

1995 12.50 5.60 0.10 0.154 4.04

1996 19.20 6.20 0.04 0.221 16.25

1997 7.47 4.70 0.10 0.392 4.42

1998 9.38 2.60 0.13 0.165 3.11

1999 8.70 15.00 0.07 0.201 7.49

2000 4.30 53.00 0.08 0.347 0.90

2001 1.30 13.70 0.06 0.214 2.31

2002 3. 06 18 .10 0.01 0.100 0.07

2003 8.10 31.20 0.28 0.197 0.86

2004 10.96 18.70 0.20 0.095 0.50

2005 5.63 5.30 0.02 0.075

2006 0.93 12.80 0.15 0.168

2007 4.73 17.04 0.168J. Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic winter flounder2-477Table J12. Commercial fishery landings at age for the Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic winter flounder stock complex.Commercial Landings at AgeAgeYear 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Total 7+1981 194 7,154 9,740 2,750 606 178 42 32 0 0 9 0 0 20,705 831982 54 6,897 8,496 2,715 488 187 78 59 21 17 7 7 0 19,026 1891983 6 2,795 7,114 3,957 1,322 584 269 91 34 70 6 29 35 16,312 5341984 0 4,518 6,367 3,197 1,503 768 355 158 67 86 27 33 37 17,116 7631985 27 3,936 5,688 3,052 1,014 326 104 32 17 7 5 2 0 14,210 1671986 0 2,122 4,187 2,206 551 271 84 27 6 3 1 2 0 9,460 1231987 0 2,488 5,465 1,895 465 122 40 20 14 12 2 0 0 10,523 881988 0 2,241 3,929 1,607 412 122 37 24 3 2 1 0 0 8,378 671989 0 1,542 4,057 1,747 431 58 34 13 5 1 0 0 0 7,888 531990 0 1,003 3,977 1,757 315 95 37 16 0 3 0 0 0 7,203 561991 0 1,406 4,756 2,239 447 143 48 16 5 1 1 0 0 9,062 711992 0 484 3,416 2,127 574 111 32 11 3 0 0 0 0 6,758 461993 13 885 2,516 1,377 361 102 71 7 0 0 2 0 1 5,335 811994 2 1,281 1,681 995 261 59 21 3 1 1 0 0 0 4,305 261995 0 116 2,067 1,935 424 77 13 6 1 0 0 0 0 4,639 201996 108 564 2,283 1,676 445 119 22 18 0 0 0 0 0 5,235 401997 1 1,485 2,705 1,734 387 60 23 12 3 1 0 0 0 6,411 391998 0 975 2,691 1,515 492 178 63 3 7 0 0 0 0 5,924 731999 0 1,962 3,658 1,380 311 59 12 4 0 0 0 0 0 7,386 162000 0 1,066 2,804 1,934 518 91 42 10 0 0 0 0 0 6,465 522001 0 1,524 3,186 1,963 717 169 65 30 10 2 1 0 0 7,667 1082002 0 292 1,693 1,688 839 293 75 23 4 1 0 0 0 4,908 1032003 0 342 1,469 1,068 432 152 56 31 4 0 0 0 0 3,554 912004 0 240 861 699 280 194 94 32 17 3 0 0 0 2,420 1462005 0 239 648 667 286 108 35 22 6 3 0 0 0 2,014 662006 1 555 1,339 590 232 119 66 26 7 1 0 0 0 2,936 1002007 0 267 1,311 871 261 64 15 3 1 1 0 0 0 2,794 20J. Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic winter flounder2-478Table J13. Recreational fishery landings at age for the Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic winter flounder stock complex.Recreational Landings at AgeAgeYear 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Total 7+1981 792 4,136 2,475 757 60 4 28 0 0 0 0 0 0 8,253 281982 447 4,146 2,659 806 120 25 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 8,216 131983 287 1,616 4,159 1,687 424 111 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 8,295 101984 286 4,153 6,071 1,527 261 104 40 0 0 0 0 0 0 12,441 401985 216 1,560 4,202 2,517 1,865 1,489 864 0 330 43 0 0 0 13,086 1,2371986 106 1,766 2,434 1,798 492 171 81 77 51 8 17 0 0 7,001 2341987 16 920 1,725 1,016 2,215 629 81 114 64 77 0 0 0 6,857 3361988 21 534 2,856 2,077 774 856 128 51 37 20 0 0 0 7,354 2361989 102 762 974 1,238 397 166 94 37 17 8 3 1 0 3,799 1601990 7 189 814 852 439 101 52 20 3 3 0 2 5 2,487 851991 13 233 1,128 883 401 108 38 0 1 0 3 0 0 2,808 421992 3 124 236 304 85 50 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 809 71993 49 370 511 459 347 86 32 16 6 3 0 0 0 1,879 571994 10 411 424 233 73 38 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,203 131995 2 243 779 238 80 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,348 01996 6 306 771 423 90 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,607 01997 1 83 504 416 181 36 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,220 01998 2 89 191 235 58 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 584 11999 1 101 340 151 49 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 658 02000 0 117 458 491 272 46 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,401 152001 1 83 265 299 165 62 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 892 162002 1 85 136 103 59 19 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 408 52003 1 100 257 103 51 36 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 572 252004 2 57 92 120 37 21 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 344 142005 0 54 67 55 22 11 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 215 62006 0 51 138 57 23 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 273 12007 0 1 82 100 16 10 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 215 8J. Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic winter flounder2-479Table J14. Commercial fishery discards at age for the Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic winter flounder stock complex.Commercial Discards at AgeAgeYear 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Total 7+1981 322 2,514 2,186 101 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5,123 01982 43 2,817 1,219 192 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4,271 01983 260 2,479 2,000 467 45 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5,251 01984 159 2,102 1,502 166 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3,936 01985 22 1,504 2,516 442 43 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4,531 01986 78 2,220 2,389 205 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4,902 01987 11 1,600 1,755 170 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3,545 01988 6 887 2,540 276 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3,729 01989 315 2,724 2,131 555 33 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5,761 11990 16 781 1,433 322 14 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2,567 11991 17 1,238 1,205 227 12 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2,700 01992 15 845 787 150 14 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,812 01993 201 849 467 57 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,580 01994 233 914 186 28 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,362 01995 86 254 193 25 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 561 01996 16 117 181 82 21 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 418 01997 73 205 256 102 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 651 01998 10 257 153 37 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 462 01999 2 30 57 45 16 7 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 158 22000 42 113 111 41 32 9 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 354 52001 12 44 35 11 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 102 02002 10 74 58 36 25 11 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 221 62003 8 47 68 26 16 35 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 219 192004 31 76 45 37 12 7 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 214 52005 22 107 47 30 17 12 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 243 82006 36 131 102 37 21 9 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 342 62007 9 60 100 57 15 8 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 254 4J. Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic winter flounder2-480Table J15. Recreational fishery discards at age for the Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic winter flounder stock complex.Recreational Discards at AgeAgeYear 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Total 7+1981 72 379 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 451 01982 31 293 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 324 01983 63 342 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 405 01984 48 697 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 745 01985 9 342 365 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 718 01986 32 219 91 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 351 01987 47 257 43 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 351 01988 58 284 76 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 421 01989 51 247 46 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 345 01990 13 137 52 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 204 01991 22 152 57 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 231 01992 7 54 21 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 83 01993 29 96 26 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 155 01994 6 48 24 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 80 01995 1 41 73 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 119 01996 41 62 54 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 157 01997 14 68 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 105 01998 5 49 8 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 64 01999 2 53 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 62 02000 0 40 62 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 109 02001 22 39 17 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 79 02002 3 28 9 3 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 45 12003 6 9 7 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 28 12004 2 5 1 2 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 12005 10 17 3 4 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 40 02006 2 21 19 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 48 12007 0 1 5 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 0J. Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic winter flounder2-481Table J16. Total fishery catch at age for the Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic winter flounder stock complex.Total Catch at AgeAgeYear 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Total 7+1981 1380 14183 14401 3608 666 182 70 32 0 0 9 0 0 34532 1111982 575 14153 12374 3713 608 212 91 59 21 17 7 7 0 31837 2021983 616 7232 13273 6111 1791 695 279 91 34 70 6 29 35 30263 5441984 493 11470 13940 4890 1770 873 395 158 67 86 27 33 37 34238 8031985 274 7342 12771 6013 2922 1819 968 32 347 50 5 2 0 32545 14041986 216 6327 9101 4218 1053 442 165 104 57 11 18 2 0 21714 3571987 74 5265 8988 3084 2690 751 121 134 78 89 2 0 0 21276 4241988 85 3946 9401 3963 1206 978 165 75 40 22 1 0 0 19882 3031989 468 5275 7208 3541 861 226 129 50 22 9 3 1 0 17793 2141990 36 2110 6276 2933 768 196 90 36 3 6 0 2 5 12461 1421991 52 3029 7146 3349 860 252 86 16 6 1 4 0 0 14801 1131992 25 1507 4460 2582 673 162 39 11 3 0 0 0 0 9462 531993 292 2200 3520 1897 714 188 103 23 6 3 2 0 1 8949 1381994 251 2612 2339 1280 337 97 34 3 1 1 0 0 0 6956 391995 88 654 3112 2202 506 83 13 6 1 0 0 0 0 6667 201996 171 1050 3289 2181 556 129 22 18 0 0 0 0 0 7417 401997 88 1841 3488 2252 584 96 23 12 3 1 0 0 0 8388 391998 16 1371 3043 1788 555 185 64 3 7 0 0 0 0 7033 741999 5 2146 4062 1577 375 82 14 4 0 0 0 0 0 8265 182000 43 1336 3436 2473 822 146 62 10 0 0 0 0 0 8328 722001 35 1689 3503 2274 883 231 81 30 10 2 1 0 0 8740 1242002 14 478 1897 1830 925 324 87 23 4 1 0 0 0 5583 1152003 15 498 1802 1199 501 223 101 31 4 0 0 0 0 4374 1362004 36 378 999 858 331 223 115 32 17 3 0 0 0 2992 1672005 32 417 765 755 328 134 50 22 6 3 0 0 0 2512 812006 39 758 1598 686 277 133 74 26 7 1 0 0 0 3598 1082007 9 328 1498 1033 293 82 27 3 1 1 0 0 0 3275 32J. Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic winter flounder2-482Table J17. Total fishery mean weight at age for the Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic winter flounder stock complex.Total Catch Mean Weights at AgeAgeYear 1 2 3 4 5 6 7+1981 0.130 0.276 0.478 0.802 1.065 1.243 1.2021982 0.090 0.261 0.438 0.694 1.048 1.253 1.8371983 0.195 0.237 0.353 0.516 0.774 1.046 1.5521984 0.146 0.258 0.366 0.542 0.693 0.913 1.2821985 0.111 0.282 0.364 0.482 0.522 0.467 0.6131986 0.129 0.292 0.398 0.480 0.685 0.879 0.9611987 0.046 0.287 0.384 0.551 0.475 0.564 0.8531988 0.039 0.279 0.351 0.508 0.634 0.517 0.8271989 0.118 0.258 0.378 0.508 0.660 0.716 1.0731990 0.082 0.295 0.394 0.525 0.672 0.808 0.9901991 0.093 0.317 0.420 0.534 0.603 0.823 1.1681992 0.079 0.287 0.427 0.599 0.802 0.945 1.3951993 0.169 0.334 0.460 0.592 0.689 0.878 1.1671994 0.311 0.430 0.473 0.564 0.750 0.985 1.2811995 0.267 0.420 0.470 0.559 0.789 1.089 1.7411996 0.136 0.380 0.464 0.607 0.824 0.851 1.0851997 0.245 0.443 0.515 0.644 0.771 0.957 1.4771998 0.196 0.362 0.465 0.568 0.665 1.090 1.1161999 0.136 0.359 0.439 0.524 0.684 0.903 1.1472000 0.106 0.407 0.492 0.622 0.729 0.975 1.0792001 0.089 0.436 0.519 0.640 0.783 1.051 1.2342002 0.135 0.372 0.499 0.617 0.747 0.927 1.1432003 0.167 0.426 0.517 0.672 0.854 1.000 1.1352004 0.094 0.384 0.549 0.619 0.786 0.945 1.2512005 0.129 0.342 0.488 0.675 0.834 1.013 1.2592006 0.118 0.379 0.468 0.652 0.872 1.065 1.2292007 0.069 0.379 0.468 0.624 0.849 1.116 1.363

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-483 Table J18. NEFSC Spring survey: stratified mean number per tow at age for winter flounder in the Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic stoc k complex (strata set: offshore 1-12, 25, 69-76; inshore 1-29, 45-56).

Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9+ Total

1980 1.09 4.06 2.05 0.25 0.06 0.03 0.01 7.55

1981 0.99 4.00 3.41 0.47 0.13 0.01 0.01 9.02

1982 1.16 3.20 1.56 0.74 0.21 0.09 0.02 0.01 6.99

1983 0.58 0.97 2.14 1.23 0.81 0.37 0.08 0.08 6.26

1984 0.22 1.36 2.18 0.85 0.46 0.29 0.07 0.06 0.03 5.52

1985 0.41 1.21 2.16 0.72 0.51 0.20 0.14 0.01 5.36

1986 0.10 0.49 1.16 0.31 0.15 0.05 0.01 2.27

1987 0.14 0.54 0.70 0.28 0.06 0.02 0.01 0.01 1.76

1988 0.09 0.48 0. 99 0. 37 0.16 0.02 0.02 2.13

1989 0.14 0.95 0.90 0.34 0.11 0.02 0.02 0.01 2.49

1990 0.23 0.49 0.89 0.28 0.05 0.04 0.01 1.99

1991 0.14 0.60 1.22 0.41 0.05 0.02 0.02 0.01 2.47

1992 0.14 0.39 0.62 0.36 0.05 0.02 1.58

1993 0.14 0.35 0.26 0.12 0.07 0.01 0.01 0.96

1994 0.16 0.74 0.43 0.11 0.04 0.02 0.01 1.51

1995 0.22 0.75 0.87 0.22 0.03 0.01 2.10

1996 0.07 0.54 0.66 0.17 0.06 0.01 0.01 1. 52

1 997 0.13 0.50 0.56 0.18 0.06 0.01 1.44

1998 0.33 1.21 0.72 0.37 0.13 0.01 2.77

1999 0.41 1.89 1.35 0.36 0.11 0.04 0.01 4.17

2000 0.28 0.70 1.19 0.65 0.27 0.07 0.01 3.17

2001 0.17 0.26 0.47 0.44 0.20 0.02 0.01 1.57

2002 0.11 0.60 0.56 0.38 0.23 0.11 0.04 0.01 2.04

2003 0.12 0.11 0.33 0.10 0.05 0.04 0.02 0.77

2004 0.30 0.19 0.29 0.26 0.11 0.05 0.03 0.01 1.24

2005 0.10 0. 45 0. 11 0.16 0.07 0.03 0.01 0.93

2006 0.30 0.62 0.62 0.16 0.08 0.02 0.01 1.81

2007 0.11 0.14 0.36 0.26 0.04 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.94

2008 0.17 0.61 0.48 0.41 0.12 0.01 0.01 1.81

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-484 Table J19. NEFSC Fall survey: stratified mean numb er per tow at age for winter flounder in the Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic stock complex (strata set: offshore 1-12, 25, 69-76; inshore 1-29, 45-56).

Year 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8+ Total

1980 0.40 1.76 4.62 2.74 0.43 0.01 9.96

1981 0.04 2.13 5.03 2.49 0.30 0.10 0.09 0.02 0.01 10.21

1982 0.01 0.76 2.21 1.34 0.47 0.12 0.02 4.93

1983 1.63 3.82 2.06 0.62 0.35 0.11 0.07 0.10 8.76

1984 0.17 1.04 1.17 0.26 0.03 0.01 2.68

1985 0.16 1.18 0.99 0.30 0.09 0.01 2.73

1986 0.23 0.90 0.36 0.03 0.01 0.01 1.54

1987 0.03 0.64 0.36 0.12 0.02 1.17

1988 0.03 0.30 0.64 0.22 0.04 0.01 0.01 1.25

1989 0.28 0.83 0.26 0.05 0.01 0.01 1.44

1990 0.08 0.89 0.85 0.15 0.01 1.98

1991 0.07 1.02 0.73 0.12 0.01 1.95

1992 0.13 1.74 0.79 0.26 0.03 0.01 2.96

1993 0.43 0.52 0.35 0.08 1.38

1994 0.45 2.23 1.08 0.30 0.04 0.03 4.13

1995 0.58 0.93 0.63 0.09 0.01 0.01 2.25

1996 0.61 1.40 0.80 0.31 0.06 0.01 3.19

1997 1.48 3.58 2.20 0.55 0.08 7.89

1998 1.39 2.83 1.91 0.41 0.05 0.01 6.60

1999 0.43 0.95 1.46 0.54 0.18 0.04 3.60

2000 0.90 2.30 2.02 0.71 0.22 0.01 0.01 6.17

2001 0.49 1.79 1.61 0.63 0.30 0.02 0.04 4.88

2002 0.05 0.52 4.01 2.35 1.14 0.59 0.18 0.01 0.01 8.86

2003 0.40 1.06 1.15 0.46 0.10 0.03 0.01 3.21

2004 1.89 0.79 0.28 0.28 0.06 0.04 0.02 3.36

2005 0.72 1.83 0.73 0.21 0.13 0.08 0.01 3.71

2006 0.47 1.39 0.79 0.22 0.06 0.02 2.95

2007 0.01 0.60 1.64 1.03 0.16 0.02 0.03 3.48

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-485 Table J20. NEFSC Winter survey: stratified mean number per tow at age for winter flounder in the Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic stock comple x (strata set: offshore 1-2, 5-6, 9-10, 69, 73). The Winter survey ended in 2007. Lengths converted to age using NEFSC spring survey ALKs.

Year 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8+ Total

1992 0.73 0.86 1.09 0.73 0.24 0.02 0.02 3.68

1993 0.56 1.16 0.54 0.18 0.12 0.02 0.01 2.59

1994 0.36 1.16 1.76 0.25 0.28 3.80

1995 0.04 0.75 1.26 0.17 2.22

1996 1.01 0.87 1.55 0.32 0.02 3.78

1997 0.43 1.49 1.32 0.54 0.13 3.91

1998 0.42 3.52 1.95 0.96 0.32 7.17

1999 0.84 5.94 2.23 0.96 0.20 0.16 10.33

2000 0.23 2.82 2.12 0.24 0.16 5.57

2001 1.04 0.55 0.70 0.54 0.22 0.05 3.10

2002 0.08 1.34 0.74 0.15 0.21 0.06 0.21 0.11 2.90

2003 0.09 0.57 1.04 0.25 0.22 0.03 2.20

2004 2.17 1.02 0.43 0.36 0.22 0.09 0.03 0.02 4.34

2005 0.39 2.56 0.36 0.43 0.27 0.04 4.05

2006 0 2.40 1.73 0.51 0.27 0.08 0.07 0.02 5.08

2007 0.02 0.56 1.03 1.03 0.13 0.02 2.79

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-486 Table J21. MADMF spring trawl surv ey mean number per tow at ag e for winter flounder in the Southern New England/Mid- Atlantic stock complex.

Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9+ Total

1978 10.00 9.80 15.86 9.40 3.17 1.10 1.34 0.51 0.82 52.00

1979 4.72 13.18 21.58 9.08 2.99 1.02 0.97 0.47 0.86 54.87

1980 1.65 8.30 14.66 9.23 3.04 0.97 0.80 0.28 0.43 39.36

1981 8.65 9.07 13.66 9.72 3.81 1.20 0.78 0.33 0.58 47.80

1982 3.06 11.88 12.72 8.80 2.66 1.07 0.69 0.18 0.40 41.46

1983 1.71 15.32 17.85 14.11 4.14 2.34 1.12 0.64 0.90 58.14

1984 1.28 9.59 11.82 10.18 3.35 1.22 0.46 0.01 0.12 38.02

1985 3.13 9.98 16.48 6.35 2.48 0.75 0.15 0.07 0.11 39.49

1986 3.27 7.07 19.36 5.69 0.83 0.13 0.19 0.16 0.08 36.78

1987 9.44 7.74 12.35 6.59 2.21 0.22 0.38 0.12 0.11 39.16

1988 3.61 7.02 14.66 2.45 0.35 0.07 0.18 0.00 0.02 28.36

1989 2.26 6.08 12.30 4.68 1.01 0.29 0.28 0.09 0.41 27.38

1990 4.43 11.73 8.03 2.99 0.40 0.02 0.10 0.00 0.02 27.72

1991 1.65 2.88 4.90 1.18 0.24 0.13 0.02 0.00 0.02 11.02

1992 8.06 7.40 6.73 4.21 1.67 0.60 0.07 0.08 0.14 28.96

1993 16.03 18.75 12.02 2.76 0.65 0.14 0.02 0.04 0.00 50.40

1994 12.15 17.35 14.96 4.72 0.62 0.59 0.37 0.05 0.02 50.84

1995 14.31 11.14 8.10 1.93 0.61 0.80 0.28 0.14 0.06 37.37

1996 4.98 10.12 7.72 2.86 2.00 1.46 0.85 0.29 0.64 30.92

1997 10.43 9.30 10.27 4.26 1.32 1.00 0.49 0.75 0.69 38.51

1998 8.62 13.09 7.21 3.51 1.47 1.22 0.41 0.31 0.03 35.88

1999 9.66 8.00 5.81 1.89 0.21 0.25 0.13 0.04 0.00 25.98

2 000 6.41 7.78 6.68 1.74 1.09 0.46 0.15 0.23 0.10 24.64

2001 5.47 4.73 2.39 2.02 0.66 0.20 0.13 0.16 0.04 15.79

2002 0.94 3.00 1.55 0.82 0.29 0.08 0.01 0.00 0.00 6.70

2003 4.12 3.78 6.15 2.25 1.14 0.24 0.03 0.01 0.00 17.73

2004 3.46 3.15 1.97 1.67 0.56 0.21 0.09 0.03 0.00 11.14

2005 14.05 8.42 2.68 1.07 0.59 0.11 0.02 0.06 0.00 27.02

2006 3.19 9.61 2.98 1.12 0.32 0.20 0.12 0.06 0.02 17.63

2007 3.69 5.59 5.32 1.63 0.35 0.09 0.02 0.00 0.00 16.68

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-487 Table J22. CTDEP spring survey for winter flou nder in the Southern New England-Mid Atlantic stock complex.

Year 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12+ Total

1984 0.00 8.21 44.01 31.83 20.96 4.23 1.23 0.67 0.74 0.04 0.01 0.03 0.00 111.96

1985 0.00 4.11 28.46 32.88 14.17 2.33 0.82 0.45 0.19 0.11 0.04 0.02 0.00 83.58

1986 0.00 6.69 26.00 15.53 12.26 2.05 0.50 0.24 0.24 0.10 0.01 0.03 0.00 63.65

1987 0.00 7.32 44.69 14.56 5.05 6.55 1.28 0.11 0.24 0.13 0.00 0.00 0.00 79.93

1988 15.50 14.49 71.87 39.10 8.59 1.83 1.46 0.16 0.04 0.02 0.02 0.00 0.00 153.08

1989 1.90 13.56 78.43 41.23 10.85 2.84 0.98 0.14 0.09 0.06 0.01 0.00 0.00 150.09

1990 3.10 11.31 131.52 64.97 8.97 4.09 1.96 0.19 0.05 0.00 0.02 0.00 0.00 226.18

1991 5.80 8.52 66.99 60.39 9.31 4.05 0.80 0.14 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.00 156.01

1992 13.70 6. 80 31 .32 12.78 8.97 1.10 0.36 0.05 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 75.08

1993 6.00 19.11 19.87 15.46 4.81 3.24 0.80 0.15 0.11 0.04 0.01 0.00 0.00 69.60

1994 16.60 9.57 64.14 5.86 3.01 1.14 0.49 0.17 0.05 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.00 101.05

1995 12.50 14.35 23.69 9.77 1.36 0.63 0.20 0.08 0.02 0.02 0.00 0.00 0.00 62.62

1996 19.20 11.46 59.07 24.17 14.41 0.97 0.28 0.14 0.06 0.04 0.01 0.00 0.00 129.81

1997 7.47 12.53 25.53 19.41 9.45 3.76 0.51 0.07 0.03 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.00 78.79

1998 9.28 11.22 32.40 12.23 12.67 3.15 0.99 0.14 0.02 0.07 0.00 0.00 0.00 82.17

1999 8.70 6.56 12 .4 2 11.27 6.09 3.20 1.14 0.61 0.04 0.01 0.02 0.00 0.00 50.06

2000 4.30 7.11 16.66 8.40 7.70 3.42 1.53 0.31 0.26 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.01 49.72

2001 1.30 8.45 19.60 10.85 8.06 5.46 1.28 0.68 0.05 0.08 0.00 0.00 0.00 55.81

2002 3.06 6.27 19.90 9.56 4.43 1.95 1.02 0.35 0.11 0.03 0.10 0.00 0.00 46.78

2003 8.10 2.47 7.83 8.71 4.79 1.95 0.77 0.82 0.29 0.07 0.14 0.00 0.00 35.94

2004 10.96 6.34 3.84 3.49 3.88 1.91 0.64 0.21 0.11 0.03 0.01 0.00 0.01 31.43

2005 5.63 7.06 6.18 0.84 0.81 0.67 0.21 0.16 0.10 0.05 0.01 0.01 0 16.10

2006 0.93 1.14 2.60 1.10 0.19 0.14 0.17 0.09 0.01 0.09 0.03 0.02 0 5.59

2007 4.73 2.98 10.83 10.70 3.10 0.61 0.15 0.11 0.12 0.04 0.01 0.01 0 28.68

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-488 Table J23. RIDFW spring survey for winter flounder in the Sout hern New England-Mid Atlantic stock complex.

Age

Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7+

1981 45.67 27.88 12.86 1.27 0.23 0.05 0.02

1982 13.42 9.74 5.02 2.31 0.33 0.11 0.02

1983 29.49 9.79 10.98 6.00 2.13 0.56 0.00

1984 6.67 16.79 13.94 2.96 0.83 0.35 0.10

1985 6.01 15.69 10.35 2.24 0.60 0.08 0.01

1986 11.94 15.63 9.59 2.63 1.14 0.09 0.00

1987 15.30 24.59 13.14 2.66 0.41 0.08 0.04

1988 8.93 12.37 9.53 2.92 0.68 0.01 0.00

1989 4.79 8.20 4.95 2.33 0.51 0.07 0.03

1990 6.46 6.36 4.88 2.16 0.48 0.04 0.06

1991 11.21 14.36 12.00 2.78 0.41 0.10 0.11

1992 1.30 0.95 1.17 0.75 0.20 0.04 0.00

1993 2.32 0.35 0.17 0.06 0.02 0.00 0.00

1994 2.84 4.56 1.97 0.63 0.19 0.04 0.03

1995 9.36 11.36 9.87 1.47 0.13 0.00 0.00

1996 3.11 8.36 7.47 1.56 0.15 0.03 0.00

1997 4.90 8.77 6.86 1.48 0.26 0.00 0.00

1998 2.11 9.47 5.90 1.60 0.13 0.01 0.00

1999 1.71 6.52 4.26 0.82 0.09 0.06 0.00

2000 2.88 4.98 5.51 2.19 0.66 0.10 0.00

2001 2.46 3.47 3.67 2.23 0.63 0.02 0.01

2002 1.60 4.76 3.21 1.24 0.54 0.15 0.06

2003 1.72 0.86 1.76 0.50 0.30 0.28 0.14

2004 5.47 3.97 1.03 0.44 0.12 0.09 0.04

2005 8.86 2.41 1.73 1.38 0.79 0.43 0.14

2006 2.07 4.72 5.24 2.24 0.74 0.30 0.05

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-489 Table J24. NYDEC Peconic Bay Small Mesh Trawl Survey for winter flounder in the Southern New England-Mid Atlantic st ock complex. No sampling in 1986; the survey ended in 2004.

AGE

Year 0 1 2+ Total

1985 1.52 3.05 0.30 4.87

1987 2.65 3.30 0.12 6.07

1988 1.45 2.55 0.31 4.31

1989 11.15 5.52 0.35 17.02

1990 8.53 3.43 0.26 12.22

1991 14.60 6.32 0.58 21.50

1992 76.87 2.04 0.20 79.11

1993 16.99 14.09 0.12 31.20

1994 14.84 6.93 0.32 22.09

1995 4.04 3.84 0.27 8.15

1996 16.25 2.84 0.15 19.24

1997 4.42 6.46 0.11 10.99

1998 3.11 3.80 0.29 7.20

1999 7.49 3.25 0.22 10.96

2000 0.90 1.56 0.15 2.61

2001 2.31 5.52 0.16 7.99

2002 0.07 0.17 0.19 0.43

2003 0.86 0.45 0.09 1.40

2004 0.50 5.38 0.11 5.99

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-490 Table J25. NJDFW Ocean survey (April) for wi nter flounder in the Southern New England-Mid Atlantic stock complex.

AGE

Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7+ Total

1993 5.10 6.50 2.50 2.40 1.70 0.40 0.57 19.17

1994 3.70 4.20 3.90 1.40 0.40 0.30 0.16 14.06

1995 8.00 10.10 8.60 2.40 0.90 0.30 0.11 30.41

1996 0.60 2.90 2.60 1.90 0.90 0.30 0.20 9.40

1997 16.60 5.40 6.10 6.00 1.50 0.30 0.12 36.02

1998 4.50 3.90 4.80 3.30 1.20 0.40 0.10 18.20

1999 2.40 2.20 5.90 3.10 2.90 0.70 0.59 17.79

2000 0.70 0.30 2.10 3.30 2.00 0.90 0.82 10.12

2001 3.90 0.60 1.30 2.70 3.80 0.70 0.83 13.83

2002 5.81 3.21 4.55 2.22 2.80 2.16 1.83 22.58

2003 2.08 1.10 4.79 1.24 1.09 0.87 1.35 12.52

2004 6.48 0.72 1.42 2.08 0.56 1.38 1.57 14.21

2005 4.97 10.04 2.55 2.76 2.61 1.32 1.42 25.67

2006 0.64 2.49 9.43 3.23 0.62 0.75 0.97 18.13

2007 3.80 0.67 4.33 6.09 1.51 0.62 1.56 18.58

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-491 Table J26. NJDFW Rivers surv ey (March-May) for winter flounder in the Southern New England-Mid Atlantic stock complex. The Rivers Survey ended in 2005.

AGE

Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7+ Total

1995 0.60 0.30 1.40 0.40 0.10 0.01 0.01 2.82

1996 0.30 0.90 0.70 0.70 0.20 0.10 0.15 3.05

1997 1.10 0.40 0.90 0.40 0.40 0.10 0.05 3.35

1998 1.90 0.90 0.40 0.70 0.20 0.10 0.05 4.25

1999 0.20 0.50 1.40 0.50 0.40 0.10 0.13 3.23

2000 0.40 0.20 0.40 0.80 0.20 0.10 0.01 2.11

2001 1.40 0.30 0.20 0.40 0.40 0.10 0.04 2.84

2002 1.21 0.48 0.49 0.18 0.27 0.13 0.04 2.80

2003 0.05 0.22 0.90 0.18 0.03 0.10 0.09 1.57

2004 0.67 0.02 0.10 0.29 0.05 0.00 0.14 1.27

2005 0.42 0.24 0.17 0.02 0.09 0.02 0.03 0.99

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-492 Table J27. Mohn’s rho statistic for the BASE and SPLIT ADAPT VPA configurations for F (ages 4-5, unweighted), SSB, and recr uitment (R) at age 1.

F
Year BASE Split

2000 -0.4477 -0.0495

2001 -0.3403 0.0324

2002 -0.0616 0.3145

2003 -0.1108 0.1954

2004 -0.2883 -0.0461

2005 -0.1145 0.1513

2006 0.3166 0.4141

Total -1.0466 1.0121
Average -0.1495 0.1446

SSB
Year BASE Split

2000 0.5172 0.0288

2001 0.2369 -0.1198

2002 0.0674 -0.1518

2003 0.3294 0.0724

2004 0.3444 0.0727

2005 0.079 -0.1058

2006 -0.0195 -0.0231

Total 1.5548 -0.2266
Average 0.2221 -0.0324

R age 1
Year BASE Split

2000 0.4547 0.1691

2001 1.7625 1.2171

2002 -0.1101 -0.0546

2003 -0.1106 -0.1983

2004 0.8004 0.8576

2005 0.0303 0.0468

2006 -0.1203 -0.0580

2007 -0.5070 -0.4286

Total 2.1999 1.5511
Average 0.2750 0.1939

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-493 Table J28. Catchability coefficients (q) estima ted in the BASE and SPLIT run configurations.

Catchability Coefficients: BASE vs SPLIT

Survey BASE SPLIT-1 SPL IT-1/BASE SPLIT-2 SPLIT2/BASE

NEFSC (split) Spring 1 1.25E-05 8.66E-06 0.69 1.92E-05 1.54 Spring 2 4.50E-05 3.39E-05 0.75 6.29E-05 1.40 Spring 3 7.46E-05 6.73E-05 0.90 8.70E-05 1.17 Spring 4 7.20E-05 6.34E-05 0.88 8.54E-05 1.19 Spring 5 7.61E-05 6.41E-05 0.84 9.43E-05 1.24 Spring 6 7.04E-05 5.92E-05 0.84 8.96E-05 1.27 Spring 7 8.00E-05 5.57E-05 0.70 1.21E-04 1.51

NEFSC (split)

Fall 2 2.93E-05 9.35E-06 0.32 8.61E-05 2.94

Fall 3 1.46E-04 7.92E-05 0.54 2.65E-04 1.81

Fall 4 2.20E-04 1.34E-04 0.61 3.59E-04 1.63

MADMF (split) Spring 2 5.49E-04 3.54E-04 0.64 8.80E-04 1.60 Spring 3 7.29E-04 6.85E-04 0.94 8.08E-04 1.11 Spring 4 7.11E-04 7.56E-04 1.06 7.00E-04 0.99 Spring 5 6.54E-04 5.88E-04 0.90 7.51E-04 1.15

RIDFW (split) Spring 1 3.05E-04 3.12E-04 1.02 3.19E-04 1.05 Spring 2 4.24E-04 3.34E-04 0.79 5.62E-04 1.33 Spring 3 4.44E-04 3.33E-04 0.75 6.09E-04 1.37 Spring 4 3.32E-04 2.63E-04 0.79 4.30E-04 1.29

CTDEP (split) Spring 1 5.35E-04 4.16E-04 0.78 7.03E-04 1.31 Spring 2 1.93E-03 2.28E-03 1.18 1.83E-03 0.95 Spring 3 1.40E-03 1.90E-03 1.36 1.18E-03 0.84 Spring 4 1.39E-03 1.60E-03 1.15 1.31E-03 0.94 Spring 5 1.52E-03 1.41E-03 0.93 1.67E-03 1.10 Spring 6 1.59E-03 1.29E-03 0.81 1.92E-03 1.21 Spring 7 1.68E-03 7.61E-04 0.45 3.09E-03 1.84

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-494 Table J28 continued.

Catchability Coefficients: BASE vs SPLIT

Survey BASE SPLIT-1 SPLIT1/BASE SPLIT-2 SPLIT-2/BASE

NEFSC (not split)

Winter 1 2.94E-05 3.14E-05 1.07 3.14E-05 1.07

Winter 2 1.48E-04 1.57E-04 1.06 1.57E-04 1.06

Winter 3 1.66E-04 1.73E-04 1.04 1.73E-04 1.04

Winter 4 1.31E-04 1.36E-04 1.04 1.36E-04 1.04

Winter 5 1.88E-04 1.95E-04 1.04 1.95E-04 1.04

NJOcean (not split)

Spring 3 5.76E-04 6.01E-04 1.04 6.01E-04 1.04 Spring 4 9.07E-04 9.43E-04 1.04 9.43E-04 1.04 Spring 5 1.48E-03 1.53E-03 1.04 1.53E-03 1.04 Spring 6 2.27E-03 2.35E-03 1.04 2.35E-03 1.04 Spring 7 4.35E-03 4.53E-03 1.04 4.53E-03 1.04

NJ-River (not split) Spring 1 4.91E-05 5.18E-05 1.05 5.18E-05 1.05 Spring 2 3.43E-05 3.55E-05 1.03 3.55E-05 1.03 Spring 3 7.73E-05 7.85E-05 1.02 7.85E-05 1.02 Spring 4 1.24E-04 1.25E-04 1.01 1.25E-04 1.01 Spring 5 1.62E-04 1.64E-04 1.01 1.64E-04 1.01

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-495 Table J29. SNE/MA winter fl ounder GARM3 SPLIT VPA results.

JAN-1 Population Numbers

AGE 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985

_____________________________________________________________________________

1 62523. 51649. 56232. 35570. 34617.

2 52498. 49941. 41766. 45482. 28676.

3 27775. 30148. 28082. 27652. 26859.

4 7151. 9710. 13487. 10982. 10026.

5 1466. 2590. 4590. 5513. 4566.

6 362. 598. 1570. 2138. 2912.

7 221. 569. 1229. 1966. 2248.

==================================================================== Total 151995. 145205. 146957. 129301. 109904.

AGE 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990

_____________________________________________________________________________

1 32860. 25995. 26675. 22572. 16474.

2 28094. 26708. 21216. 21763. 18057.

3 16835. 17277. 17103. 13799. 13045.

4 10434. 5548. 6012. 5496. 4776.

5 2768. 4726. 1752. 1337. 1296.

6 1095. 1313. 1436. 343. 315.

7 884. 741. 445. 325. 228.

==================================================================== Total 92970. 82308. 74638. 65635. 54192.

AGE 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995

_____________________________________________________________________________

1 12273. 13061. 15589. 12962. 12525.

2 13456. 10001. 10671. 12499. 10385.

3 12875. 8276. 6825. 6746. 7870.

4 5001. 4075. 2740. 2402. 3406.

5 1256. 1065. 1000. 527. 809.

6 366. 250. 263. 173. 126.

7 164. 82. 193. 69. 30.

==================================================================== Total 45391. 36809. 37279. 35378. 35152.

AGE 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

_____________________________________________________________________________

1 14078. 17348. 16597. 13768. 9446.

2 10175. 11371. 14124. 13574. 11267.

3 7911. 7381. 7644. 10323. 9172.

4 3627. 3501. 2887. 3505. 4777.

5 797. 996. 829. 746. 1443.

6 204. 149. 287. 176. 271.

7 63. 61. 115. 39. 134.

==================================================================== Total 36855. 40807. 42483. 42131. 36510.

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-496 Table 29 continued.

AGE 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

_____________________________________________________________________________

1 6950. 5241. 4398. 9355. 10057.

2 7695. 5659. 4278. 3587. 7627.

3 8016. 4772. 4201. 3052. 2595.

4 4400. 3393. 2191. 1809. 1595.

5 1673. 1545. 1122. 709. 704.

6 437. 571. 428. 466. 281.

7 235. 203. 261. 349. 170.

==================================================================== Total 29407. 21383. 16879. 19326. 23027.

AGE 2006 2007 2008

_____________________________________________________________________________

1 6159. 3600. 8837.

2 8205. 5008. 2939.

3 5867. 6032. 3803.

4 1432. 3357. 3583.

5 623. 552. 1814.

6 280. 259. 187.

7 227. 73. 83.

==================================================================== Total 22793. 18881. 21246.

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-497 Table 29 Continued.

Fishing Mortality Calculated

AGE 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985

1 0.0247 0.0124 0.0122 0.0154 0.0088

2 0.3546 0.3757 0.2124 0.3267 0.3326

3 0.8510 0.6044 0.7389 0.8145 0.7455

4 0.8156 0.5492 0.6947 0.6775 1.0872

5 0.6974 0.3004 0.5643 0.4383 1.2283

6 0.7945 0.4914 0.6599 0.5910 1.1292

7 0.7945 0.4914 0.6599 0.5910 1.1292

AGE 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990

1 0.0073 0.0032 0.0035 0.0232 0.0024

2 0.2862 0.2457 0.2301 0.3118 0.1383

3 0.9100 0.8556 0.9352 0.8610 0.7587

4 0.5920 0.9527 1.3037 1.2449 1.1354

5 0.5456 0.9916 1.4301 1.2446 1.0643

6 0.5820 0.9704 1.3309 1.2449 1.1198

7 0.5820 0.9704 1.3309 1.2449 1.1198

AGE 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995

1 0.0047 0.0021 0.0209 0.0216 0.0078

2 0.2861 0.1822 0.2586 0.2626 0.0721

3 0.9504 0.9054 0.8440 0.4832 0.5745

4 1.3472 1.2048 1.4488 0.8887 1.2531

5 1.4127 1.1997 1.5560 1.2273 1.1759

6 1.3600 1.2037 1.4763 0.9418 1.2379

7 1.3600 1.2037 1.4763 0.9418 1.2379

AGE 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

1 0.0135 0.0056 0.0011 0.0004 0.0050

2 0.1211 0.1971 0.1135 0.1920 0.1405

3 0.6152 0.7387 0.5797 0.5707 0.5345

4 1.0922 1.2411 1.1536 0.6876 0.8491

5 1.4759 1.0436 1.3481 0.8115 0.9933

6 1.1513 1.1938 1.1938 0.7083 0.8807

7 1.1513 1.1938 1.1938 0.7083 0.8807

AGE 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

1 0.0056 0.0030 0.0038 0.0043 0.0035

2 0.2778 0.0980 0.1377 0.1238 0.0623

3 0.6596 0.5786 0.6427 0.4490 0.3942

4 0.8466 0.9063 0.9287 0.7429 0.7407

5 0.8754 1.0838 0.6798 0.7263 0.7228

6 0.8545 0.9586 0.8373 0.7382 0.7352

7 0.8545 0.9586 0.8373 0.7382 0.7352

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-498 Table 29 Continued.

AGE 2006 2007

_____________________________________________________________________________

1 0.0070 0.0028

2 0.1077 0.0751

3 0.3581 0.3209

4 0.7535 0.4156

5 0.6768 0.8833

6 0.7296 0.6495

7 0.7296 0.6495

Average Fishing Mortality For Ages 4- 5

Year Average F N Weighted Biomass Wtd Catch Wtd

_____________________________________________________________________________

1981 0.7565 0.7955 0.7893 0.7972

1982 0.4248 0.4968 0.4751 0.5142

1983 0.6295 0.6615 0.6498 0.6651

1984 0.5579 0.5976 0.5801 0.6139

1985 1.1577 1.1313 1.1388 1.1333

1986 0.5688 0.5822 0.5796 0.5827

1987 0.9721 0.9706 0.9708 0.9708

1988 1.3669 1.3322 1.3392 1.3332

1989 1.2447 1.2449 1.2448 1.2449

1990 1.0999 1.1202 1.1167 1.1206

1991 1.3800 1.3604 1.3626 1.3606

1992 1.2022 1.2037 1.2035 1.2037

1993 1.5024 1.4774 1.4829 1.4781

1994 1.0580 0.9496 0.9642 0.9593

1995 1.2145 1.2383 1.2350 1.2387

1996 1.2840 1.1613 1.1759 1.1701

1997 1.1423 1.1973 1.1892 1.2004

1998 1.2509 1.1970 1.2038 1.1997

1999 0.7496 0.7094 0.7139 0.7114

2000 0.9212 0.8825 0.8870 0.8851

2001 0.8610 0.8546 0.8559 0.8547

2002 0.9951 0.9619 0.9698 0.9659

2003 0.8043 0.8444 0.8314 0.8554

2004 0.7346 0.7382 0.7374 0.7383

2005 0.7317 0.7352 0.7345 0.7352

2006 0.7151 0.7303 0.7250 0.7314

2007 0.6495 0.4816 0.5019 0.5189

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-499 Table 29 Continued.

Back Calculated Partial Recruitment

AGE 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985

_____________________________________________________________________________

1 0.0290 0.0205 0.0165 0.0190 0.0072

2 0.4167 0.6216 0.2875 0.4011 0.2708

3 1.0000 1.0000 1.0000 1.0000 0.6069

4 0.9585 0.9087 0.9401 0.8318 0.8851

5 0.8195 0.4970 0.7636 0.5381 1.0000

6 0.9336 0.8131 0.8931 0.7256 0.9193

7 0.9336 0.8131 0.8931 0.7256 0.9193

AGE 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990

_____________________________________________________________________________

1 0.0080 0.0032 0.0025 0.0186 0.0021

2 0.3145 0.2478 0.1609 0.2505 0.1218

3 1.0000 0.8628 0.6539 0.6916 0.6682

4 0.6505 0.9608 0.9116 1.0000 1.0000

5 0.5995 1.0000 1.0000 0.9997 0.9374

6 0.6396 0.9786 0.9306 0.9999 0.9863

7 0.6396 0.9786 0.9306 0.9999 0.9863

AGE 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995

_____________________________________________________________________________

1 0.0033 0.0018 0.0134 0.0176 0.0062

2 0.2025 0.1512 0.1662 0.2140 0.0576

3 0.6727 0.7515 0.5424 0.3937 0.4585

4 0.9536 1.0000 0.9311 0.7242 1.0000

5 1.0000 0.9958 1.0000 1.0000 0.9383

6 0.9627 0.9991 0.9488 0.7674 0.9878

7 0.9627 0.9991 0.9488 0.7674 0.9878

AGE 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

_____________________________________________________________________________

1 0.0092 0.0045 0.0008 0.0005 0.0051

2 0.0820 0.1589 0.0842 0.2366 0.1414

3 0.4169 0.5952 0.4300 0.7033 0.5381

4 0.7400 1.0000 0.8558 0.8474 0.8548

5 1.0000 0.8409 1.0000 1.0000 1.0000

6 0.7801 0.9619 0.8856 0.8728 0.8867

7 0.7801 0.9619 0.8856 0.8728 0.8867

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-500 Table 29 Continued.

AGE 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

_____________________________________________________________________________

1 0.0064 0.0027 0.0041 0.0057 0.0048

2 0.3174 0.0904 0.1483 0.1667 0.0842

3 0.7535 0.5339 0.6920 0.6044 0.5323

4 0.9672 0.8363 1.0000 1.0000 1.0000

5 1.0000 1.0000 0.7320 0.9776 0.9758

6 0.9761 0.8845 0.9016 0.9937 0.9925

7 0.9761 0.8845 0.9016 0.9937 0.9925

AGE 2006 2007

_____________________________________________________________________________

1 0.0093 0.0031

2 0.1429 0.0851

3 0.4753 0.3632

4 1.0000 0.4705

5 0.8981 1.0000

6 0.9683 0.7352

7 0.9683 0.7352

Spawning Stock Biomass

AGE 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985

_____________________________________________________________________________

1 0. 0. 0. 0. 0.

2 0. 0. 0. 0. 0.

3 4733. 4730. 3744. 3523. 3611.

4 3890. 4574. 5093. 3829. 3092.

5 1203. 2148. 2887. 2902. 1825.

6 341. 601. 1384. 1534. 1270.

7 217. 911. 1606. 2152. 1056.

==================================================================== Total 10384. 12964. 14714. 13939. 10855.

AGE 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990

_____________________________________________________________________________

1 0. 0. 0. 0. 0.

2 0. 0. 0. 0. 0.

3 2394. 2483. 2293. 1921. 1820.

4 3537. 1960. 1868. 1652. 1548.

5 1370. 1778. 747. 580. 588.

6 634. 646. 524. 173. 177.

7 727. 500. 271. 261. 174.

==================================================================== Total 8661. 7368. 5702. 4586. 4305.

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-501 Table 29 Continued.

AGE 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995

_____________________________________________________________________________

1 0. 0. 0. 0. 0.

2 0. 0. 0. 0. 0.

3 1908. 1294. 1066. 1240. 1606.

4 1599. 1466. 941. 935. 1244.

5 512. 527. 452. 264. 410.

6 199. 143. 158. 113. 86.

7 140. 86. 161. 71. 40.

==================================================================== Total 4359. 3515. 2778. 2623. 3386.

AGE 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

_____________________________________________________________________________

1 0. 0. 0. 0. 0.

2 0. 0. 0. 0. 0.

3 1573. 1434. 1573. 1869. 1764.

4 1421. 1363. 1132. 1376. 1922.

5 387. 531. 398. 380. 702.

6 128. 100. 199. 114. 178.

7 52. 68. 97. 37. 116.

==================================================================== Total 3561. 3496. 3399. 3776. 4683.

AGE 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

_____________________________________________________________________________

1 0. 0. 0. 0. 0.

2 0. 0. 0. 0. 0.

3 1644. 1009. 825. 687. 529.

4 1902. 1462. 962. 805. 764.

5 942. 826. 683. 428. 421.

6 310. 386. 301. 347. 208.

7 235. 184. 241. 362. 177.

==================================================================== Total 5033. 3867. 3011. 2628. 2098.

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-502 Table 29 Continued.

AGE 2006 2007

_____________________________________________________________________________

1 0. 0.

2 0. 0.

3 1113. 1213.

4 634. 1524.

5 401. 331.

6 219. 216.

7 232. 84.

==================================================================== Total 2599. 3368.

Bootstrap Summary Report

Number of Bootstrap Repetitions Requested = 1000 Number of Bootstrap Repetitions Completed = 1000 Bootstrap Output Variable: Stock Estimates (2008)

NLLS Bootstrap Bootstrap C.V. For

Estimate Mean Std Error NLLS Soln.

N 1 8837. 10251. 6192. 0.6040

N 2 2939. 3015. 806. 0.2674

N 3 3803. 3835. 658. 0.1715

N 4 3583. 3631. 670. 0.1845

N 5 1814. 1816. 381. 0.2099

N 6 187. 197. 75. 0.3803

N 7 83. 106. 72. 0.6807

NLLS

Estimate C.V. For

Bias Bias Per Cent Corrected Corrected

Estimate Std. Error Bias For Bias Estimate

N 1 1414. 201. 16.0029 7423. 0.8341

N 2 76. 26. 2.5759 2864. 0.2815

N 3 32. 21. 0.8503 3771. 0.1744

N 4 49. 21. 1.3575 3534. 0.1896

N 5 2. 12. 0.1291 1812. 0.2105

N 6 10. 2. 5.2210 177. 0.4222

N 7 23. 2. 27.9950 60. 1.2100

LOWER UPPER

80. % CI 80. % CI

N 1 3926. 19130.

N 2 2082. 4103.

N 3 3001. 4690.

N 4 2815. 4478.

N 5 1348. 2317.

N 6 107. 295.

N 7 32. 203.

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-503 Table 29 Continued.

Bootstrap Output Variable: Fishing Mortality (2007)

NLLS Bootstrap Bootstrap C.V. For

Estimate Mean Std Error NLLS Soln.

AGE 1 0.0028 0.0029 0.000784 0.2710

AGE 2 0.0751 0.0766 0.012928 0.1687

AGE 3 0.3209 0.3255 0.053652 0.1648

AGE 4 0.4156 0.4277 0.074216 0.1735

AGE 5 0.8833 0.9178 0.250750 0.2732

AGE 6 0.6495 0.6727 0.136016 0.2022

AGE 7 0.6495 0.6727 0.136016 0.2022

NLLS

Estimate C.V. For

Bias Bias Per Cent Corrected Corrected

Estimate Std. Error Bias For Bias Estimate

AGE 1 0.000127 0.000025 4.5736 0.0026 0.2969

AGE 2 0.001469 0.000411 1.9554 0.0737 0.1755

AGE 3 0.004627 0.001703 1.4422 0.3162 0.1697

AGE 4 0.012098 0.002378 2.9110 0.4035 0.1839

AGE 5 0.034455 0.008004 3.9006 0.8489 0.2954

AGE 6 0.023277 0.004364 3.5840 0.6262 0.2172

AGE 7 0.023277 0.004364 3.5840 0.6262 0.2172

LOWER UPPER

80. % CI 80. % CI

AGE 1 0.001982 0.003899

AGE 2 0.061349 0.094284

AGE 3 0.264199 0.391995

AGE 4 0.338684 0.526526

AGE 5 0.639456 1.244800

AGE 6 0.522168 0.860745

AGE 7 0.522168 0.860745

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-504 Table 29 Continued.

Bootstrap Output Variable: Average F (2007) AGES 4 - 5

NLLS Bootstrap Bootstrap C.V. For

Estimate Mean Std Error NLLS Soln.

AVG F 0.6495 0.6727 0.136016 0.2022

N WTD 0.4816 0.4937 0.078975 0.1600

B WTD 0.5019 0.5140 0.081910 0.1593

C WTD 0.5189 0.5360 0.085905 0.1603

NLLS

Estimate C.V. For

Bias Bias Per Cent Corrected Corrected

Estimate Std. Error Bias For Bias Estimate

AVG F 0.023277 0.004364 3.5840 0.6262 0.2172

N WTD 0.012027 0.002526 2.4971 0.4696 0.1682

B WTD 0.012116 0.002618 2.4140 0.4898 0.1672

C WTD 0.017038 0.002770 3.2832 0.5019 0.1712

LOWER UPPER

80. % CI 80. % CI

AVG F 0.522168 0.860745

N WTD 0.397060 0.596489

B WTD 0.414336 0.620860

C WTD 0.437215 0.650059

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-505 Table 29 Continued.

Bootstrap Output Variable: Biomass

JAN-1 Biomass (2008) Mean Biomass & SSB (2007)

NLLS Bootstrap Bootstrap C.V. For

Estimate Mean Std Error NLLS Soln.

JAN-1 6347. 6522. 737. 0.1129

MEAN 6197. 6252. 606. 0.0969

SSB 3368. 3390. 357. 0.1053

NLLS

Estimate C.V. For

Bias Bias Per Cent Corrected Corrected

Estimate Std. Error Bias For Bias Estimate

JAN-1 175. 24. 2.7496 6173. 0.1193

MEAN 55. 19. 0.8845 6142. 0.0986

SSB 23. 11. 0.6757 3345. 0.1067

LOWER UPPER

80. % CI 80. % CI

JAN-1 5600. 7474.

MEAN 5482. 7043.

SSB 2936. 3825.

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-506 Table J30. Input values for SNE/MA wint er flounder BRP calculations based on 2003-2007 average values from the GARM3 SPLIT VPA run; mean weights in kilograms.

M = 0.2

Age PR Maturity Mid-Year SSB Jan 1

Catch XW XW XW

1 0.01 0.00 0.115 0.065 0.065

2 0.14 0.00 0.382 0.221 0.221

3 0.59 0.55 0.498 0.435 0.435

4 0.97 0.95 0.648 0.572 0.572

5 1.00 1.00 0.839 0.736 0.736

6 1.00 1.00 1.028 0.917 0.917

7+ 1.00 1.00 1.247 1.247 1.247

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-507 Table J31. Biological reference points for SN E/MA Winter flounder from the non-parametric empirical approach; MSY and SSB MSY 

### in metric tons, R in thousands of age 1 fish.

Parametric BRPs

BRP2002; GARM3 GARM3 GARM3 GARM3

GARM 2 BASE SPLIT BASE SPLIT

SRFIT AGEPRO AGEPRO AGEPRO AGEPRO

T2006 T2006 T2007 T2007

MSY 10606 n/a n/a n/a n/a

FMSY 0.320 n/a n/a n/a n/a

SSB MSY 

### 30144 n/a n/a n/a n/a

Non-Parametric BRPs

BRP2002; GARM3 GARM3 GARM3 GARM3

GARM 2 BASE SPLIT BASE SPLIT

AGEPRO AGEPRO AGEPRO AGEPRO

T2006 T2006 T2007 T2007

F40% 0.210 0.260 0.260 0.248 0.248

YPR 0.246 0.274 0.274 0.276 0.276

SSBR 1.106 1.070 1.070 1.098 1.098

Mean R 35920 35239 35239 35239 35239

MSY 10420 9658 9658 9742 9742

SSB MSY 

### 46810 37608 37608 38761 38761

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-508 Table J32. Stock status in 2007 and 2009-2014 proj ection results for SNE/ MA winter flounder.

Catch and SSB in metric tons.

Status and Projections

GARM3

SPLIT

AGEPRO

T2007

FMSY = F40% 0.248

F2007 0.649

F2007/FMSY 2.62

SSB MSY 

### 38761

SSB2007 3368

SSB2007/SSB MSY 

### 0.09

F2009-2014 0.248

Total Catch 2009 1116

SSB2014 14202

SSB MSY 

### 38761

Prob => SSB MSY 

### <1%

F2009-2014 0.000

Total Catch 2009 0

SSB2014 28663

SSB MSY 

### 38761

Prob => SSB MSY 

### 1%

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-509 Figure J1. Statistical areas used to define winter flounder stocks. The Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic Bight comple x includes areas 521, 526, and 533-639.

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-510 

# SNE/MA Winter Flounder

Landings and Discards

Year 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010000s mt



## 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 16000

Comm Land

Comm Disc

Rec Land

Rec Disc

Total Catch

Figure J2. Commercial landings (1964 -2007), commercial di scards (1981-2007)

recr eational landings (1981- 2007), recreational disc ards (1981-2007) and total fishery catch (1981-2007) for the SNE/MA winter flounder stock complex.

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-511 

# SNE/MA Winter Flounder Survey Biomass Indices

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

NEFSC Fall NEFSC Spring

NEFSC Winter



# 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010Stratified mean kg/tow



# 0 5 10 15 20

MADMF Spring RIDFW Spring

RIDFW Fall



### Figure J3. Trends in research survey biomass indices for SNE/MA winter flounder. 

# Year 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 0 5 10 15 20 25 30

CTDEP Spring

NJDFW Ocean

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-512 

# SNE/MA Winter Flounder

Recruitment Indices

1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 0 1 2 3

NEC S1

NEC W1



# 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010Stratified mean no/tow



# 0 5 10 15 20RI S1



# 0 10 20 30 40 50

MA S1

RI S1

CT S1

Figure J4. Trends in research survey recruitment indices for SNE/MA winter flounder. 

# Year 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 0 5 10 15 20

NJ O1

NY 1

NJ R1

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-513 

## SNE/MA Winter Flounder Spring Survey Indices by Age

Age (years) 1234567Year 1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

+



### Figure J5. Age 1+ structure of the SNE/MA winter flounder population, 1980-2008.

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-514 Figure J6. Retrospective analysis of F for the GARM3 BASE run.

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-515 Figure J7. Retrospective analysis of SSB for the GARM3 BASE run.

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-516 Figure J8. Retrospective analysis of F for the GARM3 SPLIT run.

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-517 Figure J9. Retrospective analysis of SSB for the GARM3 SPLIT run.

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-518 Figure J10. Retrospective analysis of recr uitment at age 1 for the GARM3 SPLIT run.

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-519 BASE SWEPT AREA INDICES

0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00 1.20 1.40NEFSC S1NEFSC S2NEFSC S3NEFSC S4NEFSC S5NEFSC S6NEFSC S7NEFSC F2NEFSC F3NEFSC F4MADMF S2MADMF S3MADMF S4MADMF S5



### Surveyq



### 1981-2007



### SPLIT SWEPT AREA INDICES

0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50NEFSC S1NEFSC S2NEFSC S3NEFSC S4NEFSC S5NEFSC S6NEFSC S7NEFSC F2NEFSC F3NEFSC F4MADMF S2MADMF S3MADMF S4MADMF S5



### Surveyq



### 1981-1993 1994-2007



### Figure J11. Comparison of swept area (absolute N) survey index catchability coefficents (q) for the BASE and SPLIT VPA run configurations; error bars are +/- 2 standard errors.

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-520 Figure J12. Fishing mortality (F ages 4-5, unweighted) and SSB for the GARM3 SPLIT run.

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-521 Figure J13. Recruitment at age 1 (000s) for the GARM3 SPLIT run.

Figure J14. Bootstrap distri bution of 2007 Spawning Stock Biomass (SSB, metric tons).

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-522 Figure J15. Bootstrap distri bution of 2007 Fishing Mortality (F ages 4-5, unweighted).

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-523 

## Year 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005Mean weight (kg)



## 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0

Figure J16. Trends in mean weight at age in the total catch of SNE/MA winter flounder. 

### 1 2 3 4 5 6 7+

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-524 

# Year 1980 1983 1986 1989 1992 1995 1998 2001 2004 2007Mean weight (kg)



## 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8

Figure J17. Trends in mean weight at age in the NEFSC Spring survey catch of SNE/MA winter flounder. 

### 1 2 3 4 5 6 7+

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-525 SNE/MA W FL Fem ales

Annua l Estim a te s

1 2 3 4 5

1 9

82 1984 1986 1988 1990 19 9 2 1994 1996

1 9

9 8 2000
2 0

02 2004 2006



### YearA50



### Females U95 L95



### 1999 SAW28 2008

BRP2002 GARM 3

L50 29.00 29.20

A50 3.00 2.90

Age

1 0.00 0.00

2 0.06 0.00 0.07 0.00

3 0.53 0.55

4 0.95 0.95

5 1.00 1.00

6 1.00 1.00

7+ 1.00 1.00



### Figure J18. Time series pattern in female age of 50% maturity (A50) a nd time series estimates of female maturity at age for SNE/MA winter flounder.

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-526 SN E/MA W FL S-R : GAR M3_T2007_SPLIT

0 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000

0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 16000

S pa w ning S tock Biom a ss (m t)Recruitm ent (age 1, 000s)



### Figure J19. Spawning stock biomass (SSB; mt) and recruitment (age 1, 000s) estimates for

SNE/MA winter flounder: GARM3 ADAPT VPA SPLIT run configur ation; top 8 year classes used in reference point calculati ons (SSB > 5,700 mt) in solid sq uare symbols, others in open

diamonds.

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-527 Figure J20. Top panel: projection of SN E/MA winter flounder SSB to 2014 under F MSY 

### = F40% = 0.248 during 2009-2014; median SSB in 2014 = 14,202 mt. Bottom panel: projection of

SNE/MA winter flounder SSB to 2014 under F = 0.000 during 2009-2014; median SSB in 2014 = 28,663 mt.

### J. Southern New England/Mi d-Atlantic winter flounder 2-528 Figure J21. Southern New E ngland/Mid-Atlantic winter fl ounder stock status in 2007.

## Procedures for Issuing Manuscripts

in the Northeast Fisheries Science Center Reference Document (CRD) Series

Clearance
All manuscripts submitted for issuance as CRDs must have cleared the NEFSC’s manuscript/abstract/ webpage review process. If any author is not a federal employee, he/she will be required to sign an “NEFSC Release-of-Copyright Form.” If your manuscript

includes material from another work which has been copyrighted, then you will need to work with the NEFSC’s Editorial Office to arrange for permission to use that material by securing release signatures on the “NEFSC Use-of-Copyrighted-Work Permission

Form.” For more information, NEFSC authors should see the NEFSC’s online publication policy manual, “Manu

script/abstract/webpage preparation, review, and dis

semination: NEFSC author’s guide to policy, process, and procedure,” located in the Publications/Manuscript Review section of the NEFSC intranet page.



### Organization
Manuscripts must have an abstract and table of contents, and (if applicable) lists of figures and tables. As much as possible, use traditional scientific manu

script organization for sections: “Introduction,” “Study Area” and/or ”Experimental Apparatus,” “Methods,”
“Results,” “Discussion,” “Conclusions,” “Acknowl

edgments,” and “Literature/References Cited.”



### Style
The CRD series is obligated to conform with the style contained in the current edition of the United States Government Printing Office Style Manual. That style manual is silent on many aspects of scientific manuscripts. The CRD series relies more on the CSE Style Manual. Manuscripts should be prepared to conform with these style manuals.

The CRD series uses the American Fisheries Soci

ety’s guides to names of fishes, mollusks, and decapod crustaceans, the Society for Marine Mammalogy’s guide to names of marine mammals, the Biosciences Information Service’s guide to serial title abbreviations, and the ISO’s (International Standardization Organiza

tion) guide to statistical terms. For in-text citation, use the name-date system. A special effort should be made to ensure that all neces

sary bibliographic information is included in the list

of cited works. Personal communications must include date, full name, and full mailing address of the con

tact.



### Preparation Once your document has cleared the review pro

cess, the Editorial Office will contact you with publica

tion needs – for example, revised text (if necessary) and separate digital figures and tables if they are embedded in the document. Materials may be submitted to the Editorial Office as files on zip disks or CDs, email attachments, or intranet downloads. Text files should be in Microsoft Word, tables may be in Word or Excel, and graphics files may be in a variety of formats (JPG, GIF, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.).



### Production and Distribution
The Editorial Office will perform a copy-edit of the document and may request further revisions. The Editorial Office will develop the inside and outside
front covers, the inside and outside back covers, and the title and bibliographic control pages of the docu

ment. Once both the PDF (print) and Web versions of the CRD are ready, the Editorial Office will contact you to review both versions and submit corrections or changes before the document is posted online. A number of organizations and individuals in the Northeast Region will be notified by e-mail of the availability of the document online.Research Communications Branch

Northeast Fisheries Science Center
National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA

166 Water St.
Woods Hole, MA 02543-1026



# Publications and Reports

of the

Northeast Fisheries Science Center

The mission of NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is “stewardship of living marine resources for the benefit of the nation through their science-based conservation and management and promotion of the health of their environment.” As the research arm of the NMFS’s Northeast Region, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) supports the NMFS mission by “conducting ecosystem-based research and assess

ments of living marine resources, with a focus on the Northeast Shelf, to promote the recovery and long-term sustainability of these resources and to generate social and economic opportunities and benefits from their use.” Results of NEFSC research are largely reported in primary scientific media ( e.g. , anonymously-peer-reviewed scientific journals). However, to assist itself in providing data, information, and advice to its constituents, the NEFSC occasionally releases its results in its own media. Currently , there are three such media:

NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NE -- This series is issued irregularly. The series typically includes: data reports of long-term field or lab studies of important species or habitats; synthesis reports for important species or habitats; annual reports of overall assessment or monitoring programs; manuals describing program-wide surveying or experimental techniques; literature surveys of important species or habitat topics; proceedings and collected papers of scientific meetings; and indexed and/or annotated bibliographies. All issues receive internal scientific review and most issues receive technical and copy editing.

Northeast Fisheries Science Center Reference Document -- This series is issued irregularly. The series typically includes: data reports on field and lab studies; progress reports on experiments, monitoring, and assessments; background papers for, collected abstracts of, and/or summary reports of scientific meetings; and simple bibliographies. Issues receive internal scientific review and most issues receive copy editing.

Resource Survey Report (formerly Fishermen’s Report ) -- This information report is a regularly-issued, quick-turnaround report on the distribution and relative abundance of selected living marine resources as derived from each of the NEFSC’s periodic research ves

sel surveys of the Northeast’s continental shelf. This report undergoes internal review, but receives no technical or copy editing.

TO OBTAIN A COPY of a NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NE or a Northeast Fisheries Science Center Reference Document

, either contact the NEFSC Editorial Office (166 Water St., Woods Hole, MA 02543-1026; 508-495-2350) or consult the NEFSC webpage on “Reports and Publications” (http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/nefsc/publications/). To access Resource Survey Report , consult the Ecosystem Surveys Branch webpage (http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/femad/ecosurvey/mainpage/).

A ny u s e of trad e OR BRAND nam e s in any N E FSC p u b l ication or r e port do e s not imp l y

e ndors e

m e nt

. 

### MEDIA MAIL