Southern flounder is a species of greatest conservation need sgcn status S2S3VULNERABLE to imperiled in the texas conservation action plan tcap and one of the mosttargeted fish in texas marine…

The U.S. Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service awarded a $153,902 Formula Grant under the State Wildlife Grants (CFDA 15.634) program to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). The purpose of this 2-year project is to estimate southern flounder fall spawning migration probability and timing in the Laguna Madre using acoustic telemetry. This research directly addresses a priority of the State Wildlife Grants program to study southern flounder movements and survival in estuaries. The grant includes a $39,300 sub-award to Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi to support this research effort. Successful completion of the project will provide critical information to help resource managers improve the population status of the vulnerable southern flounder in Texas.

Southern flounder is a species of greatest conservation need sgcn status S2S3VULNERABLE to imperiled in the texas conservation action plan tcap and one of the mosttargeted fish in texas marine waters fisheryindependent data from the texas parks andwildlife department tpwd indicate a longterm population decline since the 1980S whichhas prompted numerous regulatory actions to reduce harvest and effort in the fishery thereasons for the decline are unknown but may be attributed to several factors includingoverfishing and declines in recruitment effective management strategies for southern flounder will require identification of and accounting for potential adaptive differences inhabitat use and migration strategies among local populations this is especially true forsouthern flounder in texas as recent research has revealed evidence of partial migrationand climatic effects on spawning migration phenology the purpose of this project is toestimate southern flounder fall spawning migration probability and timing in the lagunamadre using acoustic telemetry and compare results to similar recent and ongoing studiesto evaluate the effect of inlet proximity on these metrics this project directly addresses astate wildlife grant program priority research on southern flounder movementsurvivalin estuaries successful completion of this project will provide a direct estimate of southernflounder migration probability and timing in the laguna madre help to addressuncertainties regarding the effectiveness of the fall fishery closure and ultimately aidresource managers seeking to improve the population status of southern flounder in texas