As the weather warms up and spring approaches across the Delmarva Peninsula, amateur and professional fishermen and watermen are gearing up to hit the Chesapeake Bay.

However, the struggle between government agencies and those who rely on the bay for recreation or a living has found a new front: flounder.

According to The Daily Times, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Service has decided to shorten the annual flounder catching season from the expected seven months to just five and impose a minimum on the size of fish that anglers can catch and keep.

Fishermen and anglers argue that the season is too short and may not lead to a profitable or fruitful catch in 2010.

The minimum catch size, which this year will be set at 18.5 inches, will bring Maryland in line with neighboring states in the region. Delaware and New Jersey also impose a minimum.

There’s a definite trickle-down effect to consider. As Ocean City baiter Monty Hawkins states in the article, two fewer months of flounder fishing means two fewer months that local tackle and bait shops are open and can do business. That also could affect the number of people who come to Ocean City and other flounder-fishing areas on the Eastern Shore, which could lead to less business at local restaurants, hotels, other fishing-related industries and other seasonal businesses that rely on recreational anglers and fishermen to remain profitable.