Southern Flounder

Southern Flounder are distributed from North Carolina to Texas (in the US), and have shown declining numbers over recent years across their range where they historically supported commercial and recreational fisheries. We have focused on investigating biological questions needed for better stock assessment and improved management. Additionally, Southern Flounder have a variable life history throughout their range, and our work has also sought to better understand and describe how this species exhibits plasticity in its life history traits across space.

Primary Collaborators

• Dr. Fred Scharf
• Dr. Will White
• Dr. Troy Farmer

Select Publications

• S.R. Midway, F.S. Scharf, M.A. Dance, N.J. Brown-Peterson, J.C. Ballenger, N.S. Beeken, R.J. Borski, T.L. Darden, K.A. Erickson, T.M. Farmer, A. Fincannon, J. Godwin, P.M. Graham, J.L. Green, H. Hershey, D. Kiene, L.M. Lee, M.S. Loeffler, A. Markwith, C. McGarigal, S.P. Powers, D.R. Smith, A.M. Watson, S.B. White (2024). Southern Flounder: Major Milestones and Remaining Knowledge Gaps in Their Biology, Ecology, and Fishery Management. Reviews in Fisheries Science & Aquaculture 32:450–478.
• D.R. Smith, S.R. Midway, R.H. Caffey, J.M. Penn (2022). Economic Values of Potential Regulation Changes for the Southern Flounder Fishery in Louisiana. Marine and Coastal Fisheries 14:e10195.
• D.R. Smith, M.A. Dance, J.A. West, S.R. Midway (2021). Spatiotemporal Variability of Fishery-Dependent Indices for the Declining Louisiana Southern Flounder Fishery. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 41:1826–1837.
• K.A. Erickson, J. West, M.A. Dance, T.M. Farmer, J.C. Ballenger, S.R. Midway (2021). Changing climate associated with the range-wide decline of an estuarine finfish. Global Change Biology 27:2520–2536.
• S.R. Midway, J.W. White, F.S. Scharf (2018). The Potential for Cryptic Population Structure to Sustain a Heavily Exploited Marine Flatfish Stock. Marine and Coastal Fisheries 10(4):411–423.
• C.A. Grieshaber, S.R. Midway, F.S. Scharf, H. Koopman, J.A. Luckenbach, M.A. Middleton (2016). Seasonal physiological dynamics of maturing female southern flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma). Conservation Physiology 4(1):cow043.
• S.R. Midway, T. Wagner, S.A. Arnott, P. Biondo, F. Martinez-Andrade, T.F. Wadsworth (2015). Spatial and temporal variability in growth of southern flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma). Fisheries Research 167:323–332.
• S.R. Midway, S.X. Cadrin, F.S. Scharf (2014). Southern flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma) stock structure inferred from otolith shape analysis. Fishery Bulletin 112(4):326–338.
• S.R. Midway, F.S. Scharf (2012). Histological Analysis Reveals Larger Size at Maturity for Southern Flounder with Implications for Biological Reference Points. Marine and Coastal Fisheries 4(1):628–638.