SAVE THE SUMMER FLOUNDER FISHERY FUND HIRES DR. MARK MAUNDER FOR SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENT OF SUMMER FLOUNDER
The Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund (SSFFF), the nonprofit organization formed in New Jersey to
seek scientific and legislative solutions to the crisis facing those whose livelihoods depend on a healthy and vibrant recreational
summer flounder fishery, has announced the hiring of internationally recognized fisheries biologist Mark Maunder, Ph.D., to
assist in its pursuit of those scientific solutions.
Dr. Maunder, whose research focuses on the development of statistical methodology for fisheries stock
assessment, protected species and ecological modeling, will both review the current Summer Flounder Stock Assessment and methodologies,
and attend the upcoming Stock Assessment Workshop (SAW) for Summer Flounder in June 2008.
Dr Maunder is recognized internationally as a leader in the development of methodology for fisheries
stock assessment and population dynamics modeling. He has been the team leader or participant in numerous stock assessments.
Dr. Maunder has been a main developer of three general stock assessment models used by several organizations worldwide.
He has taught several courses in stock assessment and ecological modeling, including a graduate course at
Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
“Dr. Maunder has already completed his initial review of the current assessment, identifying several
key areas where further investigation and research is needed,” said Greg Hueth, president of the Shark River Surf Anglers
and one of the founders of SSFFF.
Dr Maunder is currently a senior scientist at the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission. Through his
company, Quantitative Resource Assessment, LLC, Dr Maunder has served as a consultant for several national and international
governmental and nongovernmental organizations. He has been an invited speaker on many occasions, reviewed stock assessments
for several national and international organizations, has more than 30 peer-reviewed publications, numerous reports, attended
many international conferences and workshops on fisheries, ecology and statistics, and has obtained substantial external funding
as lead or co-principle investigator.
“One of our goals in hiring a scientist was to assure that he or she was
not only well-respected, but also highly qualified to review and comment on stock assessments,” said Dave Arbeitman,
owner of The Reel Seat tackle shop in Brielle, NJ, and also a founder of SSFFF. “Dr. Maunder is that person.”
“In looking for a scientist, we were careful to work with someone
who was interested not in simply affirming our assumptions as relates to summer flounder, but who is going to work at finding
the truth. We have stated from day one, as has most of the recreational fishing community over the years, that the truth cannot
hurt us. Accurate and reliable science can only help the long-term sustainability of both the fish and the fishery,”
said Capt. Tony Bogan, a member of
the SSFFF Executive Committee.
The Save the Summer
Flounder Fishery Fund (SSFFF) is a nonprofit organization comprised of party and charter boat owners, tackle and bait store
owners, tackle distributors, bait wholesalers, and others whose livelihoods are dependent on a healthy and vibrant recreational
fishing industry. Its mission: “We seek to safeguard and improve fishing access to summer flounder, for those who enjoy
it and to ensure the survival of those who depend on it, through scientific and legislative means.”
