A new paper – led by UNCW PhD student Verena Wang and in collaboration with Fred Scharf (UNCW) and Steve Arnott (SCDNR) – uses otolith chemistry analysis to show that southern flounder do not return to their natal estuary after spawning migrations. This is additional evidence that the stock is well mixed across the US South Atlantic, and should not be managed as single-state unit stocks.
Wang VH, White JW, Arnott SA, Scharf FS. 2018. Population connectivity of southern flounder in the U.S. South Atlantic revealed by otolith chemical analysis. Marine Ecology Progress Series 569: 165-179