Albany - Saying conservation measures have proved effective, state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis announced that New York will provide a longer, more traditional fluke (also known as summer flounder) recreational fishing season for 2010.

Unlike 2009, the state has proposed a fluke season for this year that runs through Labor Day and that does not include a mid-summer break. If approved by the state's Marine Resources Advisory Council at its March 16 meeting, the recreational season will run without interruption from May 15 through September 6. The proposal also includes keeping the minimum size limit at 21 inches and the possession limit at two.

Last year, in order to comply with federal restrictions, New York adopted a recreational fluke season that included a two-week break in July and concluded in mid-August. Commissioner Grannis recognized that these strict limits posed a hardship for anglers but the result was that New York did not exceed its harvest limit - for the first time in six years.

That fact, combined with a federal decision to increase the overall East Coast fluke quota, means that New York anglers will enjoy a significantly higher quota for 2010 - 449,000 fluke, or an increase of 23 percent over 2009.

Meanwhile, New York continues its federal lawsuit challenging the methods and data used to manage coastal fluke populations. The lawsuit claims that the National Marine Fisheries Service violated federal law by using outdated and scientifically unreliable data to establish fluke harvest limits along the Atlantic Coast, resulting in inequitable treatment of New York anglers.

"These are difficult times for New York's saltwater anglers and we know the struggles they have faced while adhering to restrictions imposed on our state by flawed federal data," Commissioner Grannis said. "Their cooperation has allowed the state to expand the fluke season this year."

"We hopefully have turned a corner now and will be returning to a more predictable fishery as the stock continues to rebuild," Commissioner Grannis added. "But we must continue to be cautious and not change size and catch limits too quickly. The last thing we want to do is lose the ground DEC and saltwater anglers have fought to gain."

Anglers wishing to comment on the proposal can send e-mails to fwmarine@gw.dec.state.ny.us, with the subject line "2010 Fluke." No replies to these comments will be issued, but the comments will be presented to the Marine Resources Advisory Council at its meeting on March 16. Written comments can be sent to Stephen W. Heins, NYSDEC Marine Resources, 205 Belle Mead Road, Suite 1, East Setauket, NY 11733. To comment directly to the Council, send e-mails to wwise@notes.cc.sunysb.edu. Additional opportunity for public comment will come when DEC issues a formal rule making notice in April.