The blackfin flounder Glyptocephalus stelleri is a commercially important species in the East Sea of Korea, but its catches and biomass have decreased gradually in recent years. This study estimated the optimal catch (acceptable biological catch, ABC) for the effective management of this species by estimating population ecology parameters and the stock biomass of blackfin flounder in the East Sea of Korea. The estimated instantaneous coefficient of total mortality (Z) of blackfin flounder was 1.0542/year, the survival rate (S) was 0.3485, and the instantaneous coefficient of natural mortality (M) was 0.3637/year. From the values of S and M, the instantaneous coefficient of fishing mortality (F) was calculated to be 0.6905/year. The age at first capture was 1.304 years, and the total length was 11.5 cm at that time. On the basis of these parameters, the annual biomass was estimated by a biomass-based cohort analysis using annual catch data in weight by year for 1991-2012 in the East Sea of Korea. The annual biomass peaked in 1997 at about 12,800 mt and then subsequently declined continuously to a level of 10,500 mt in 2004 and to 9,800 mt in 2011 and 2012. The maximum sustainable yield and $F_{0.1}$ were estimated as 3,547 mt and 0.3595/year, respectively. Using these estimations, the ABC was estimated to be 3,571 mt in tier 5, 3,397 mt in tier 4, and 2,622 mt in tier 3.