Estimates of current and reference biomass are not available.

TACCs have never been reached since the introduction of the QMS, although landings approached

the TACC for FLA 1 in 1992

–93 and 1993–94, and for FLA 3 in 1988–89 and 1996–97. Typically

flatfish populations consist of only one or two year classes at any time. The sizes of the populations

depend heavily on the strength of the recruiting year classes and are therefore highly variable. For

this reason a constant catch at the level of the current TACCs is unlikely to be attainable or

sustainable, nor would it be likely to allow the stock to move towards a size that will support the

MSY. It is unknown if recent catches will allow the stock to move towards a size that will support the

MSY.