One Fish, Four States: How North Carolina’s Flounder Compare to Its Neighbors

From Virginia to Georgia, flounder are managed four different ways. Here’s how the rules and the science compare.

Two different fish

North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia share one population of southern flounder. Biologists from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida studied it together because the southern flounder in this region belong to a single population. Virginia’s fishery is built on a different species, summer flounder, which are most abundant from southern New England to Hatteras Island.

Virginia

According to the 2025 assessment, summer flounder are not overfished and not subject to overfishing. The stock fell to record lows in the late 1980s and early 1990s, then rebuilt under sustainable management. The same assessment found lower recruitment since 2010 and declining weight and maturity at age compared with the early 2000s.

For 2026, Virginia anglers may keep four summer flounder per day, with a 16-inch minimum from January 1 to May 31 and 17.5 inches from June 1 to December 31.

North Carolina

The 2026 recreational season ran September 1 through 14, with a limit of one flounder per day, 15 inches or longer, caught on hook and line. Before the state’s management changes, North Carolina’s combined commercial and recreational harvest made up 57% of total southern flounder removals.

North Carolina’s rules are also shaped by state law. It requires fishery management plans to end overfishing within two years of adoption and to rebuild the stock to a sustainable harvest within 10 years. For southern flounder, the state’s plan targets rebuilding the spawning stock by 2028.

South Carolina

In 2021, South Carolina raised its minimum size to 16 inches and cut limits to five per person and 10 per boat. Recreational anglers account for over 99% of the state’s flounder harvest. SCDNR’s survey catches hit an all-time low in 2017, and the 2024 rate of 0.6 fish per set was similar to the ten-year average. SCDNR says it is too early to determine whether the 2021 changes were enough to rebuild the population.

Georgia

Georgia’s Coastal Resources Division lists a flounder limit of 15 fish per day with a 12-inch minimum.

The shared stock

The 2024 stock assessment update found that every state in the southern flounder stock is overfished and that overfishing is still occurring, with no evidence of recent high recruitment.

Quick Comparison

Regulations are based on state agency sources at the time of publication. Always check current rules with each state before fishing.