Inlet Proximity Effects on Southern Flounder Migration Probability and Timing

Southern Flounder is a species of greatest conservation need (SGCN; status S2S3; “vulnerable to imperiled”) in the Texas Conservation Action Plan (TCAP) and one of the most targeted fish in Texas’ marine waters. Fishery-independent data from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) indicate a long-term population decline since the 1980s which has prompted numerous regulatory actions to reduce harvest and effort in the fishery. The reason(s) for the decline are unknown but may be attributed to several factors, including overfishing and declines in recruitment. Effective management strategies for Southern Flounder will require identification of and accounting for potential adaptive differences in habitat use and migration strategies among local populations. This is especially true for Southern Flounder in Texas, as recent research has revealed evidence of partial migration and climatic effects on spawning migration phenology.

The purpose of this project is to estimate Southern Flounder fall spawning migration probability and timing in the Laguna Madre using acoustic telemetry and compare results to similar recent and ongoing studies to evaluate the effect of inlet proximity on these metrics.