Thank you for your interest in the Maryland Volunteer Angler Summer Flounder Survey. This survey runs from April 1st to October 31st of each year. If you would like to view results from previous years then check out the flounder links below.

TWO WAYS TO PARTICIPATE:

Again, thank you for interest in the Maryland Volunteer Angler Summer Flounder Survey (MVASFS). Your data will help the Maryland Department of Natural Resources determine the size structure of summer flounder caught by recreational anglers in Chesapeake Bay and along the Atlantic Coast. In addition, it will be used to augment and enhance existing data from the National Marine Fisheries Services' (NMFS) Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics Survey (MRFSS).

The Maryland 2009 recreational summer flounder season will run from April 15 until September 13. The 2009 recreational regulations are as follows:

- Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays (3 fish daily @ 18 inch minimum size)
- Chesapeake Bay and tributaries (1 fish @ 16.5 inch minimum size)

INSTRUCTIONS:

• The survey will run April through October of each year.
• All survey information must be submitted online or mailed by November 1^st of the current year.
• Information may be submitted online or through the mail.
  Mailing to: Maryland Department of Natural Resources
  Fisheries Service
  Tawes State Office Building, B-2
  580 Taylor Ave.
  Annapolis, MD 21401
• If you submit the information online, please DO NOT mail in a paper version.
• Please fill out one survey for each trip even if no fish are caught.
• If more than one survey participant is fishing on the same boat, only one designated individual should fill out the survey form for the group for that day.
• Please record your legal first name. Please do not use abbreviations or nick names.
• Please record your legal last name.
• Please record your phone number.
• Please record the date that you are completing the form.
• Please indicate if you are a member of the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA), Maryland Saltwater Sports Fishermen’s Association (MSSA), or Pasadena Sportfishing Group.
• Please record your location code on the survey form. The location codes may be found on the map on the back of the survey form.
• Please record the date of the fishing trip.
• Please record the time that the fishing trip started.
• Please provide the number of hours that fishing lines were in the water.
• Please provide the number of anglers on the trip.
• Please circle where you fished from on the survey form.
• Please circle what method was used to target summer flounder.
• Please record the total number of flounder your party kept and the total number of flounder your party released.
• Please record the total number of fish you caught. However, record the length for only the first 20 summer flounder you catch. It is very important to record the lengths from the first 20 fish to the 1/4" (quarter of an inch), whether they are kept or released. Do not provide a range of sizes (ex. 5 fish 17 - 22 in).

MVASFS Data Analysis Survey Results

If you have further questions contact Allison Luettel via e-mail aluettel@dnr.state.md.us, or call 1-877-620-8DNR.