Guys: The Assembly and Senate are currently sponsoring Senator Van Drew's Menhaden Bill A2304/S1140 to reduce Bunker netting and or permitted vessels. Below is a letter that can be cut and pasted to Word for printing. If you are sick and tired as most of us are with the Bunker rodeo currently going on and depletion of our resources then print, sign and address the below letter. Feel free to personalize it as you see fit. Time to act is now as the bill is currently being discussed and people are pissed:
June 3, 2010
Governor Chris Christie
Office of the Governor
PO Box 001
Trenton, NJ 08625-001
Senator Frank Lautenberg
Hart Senate Office Building
Suite 324
Washington, DC 20510
Senator Jeff Van Drew
21 North Main Street
Cape May Court House, NJ 08210
Senator Robert Menendez
Hart Senate Office Building
Suite 528
Washington, DC 20510
Director David Chanda
N.J. Division of Fish and Wildlife
P.O. Box 400
Trenton, NJ 08625-0400
Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr.
504 Broadway
Long Branch, NJ 07740
Senator Bob Smith
216 Stelton Road
Suite E-5
Piscataway, NJ 08854
Re: Support For Senator Jeff Van Drew, Menhaden Bill A2304/S1140
Menhaden Purse Seining Regulations & Compliance
Request for Termination of Menhaden Commercial Netting
State of New Jersey Coastal Waters By New Jersey Taxpayers
Dear Elected Officials:
I am writing in support of the Bunker Bill A2304/S1140 currently being sponsored in the Assembly by Mathew Milam, Nelson Albano, Celeste Riley and in the Senate by Jeff Van Drew and Robert Smith.
I am also writing to each of you to place you on notice of the out of control and unregulated commercial purse seining and netting of Menhaden currently being conducted in New Jersey coastal waters, specifically off Ocean and Monmouth counties. Out of state vessels, ships, trucking companies supported by planes and helicopters are netting thousands of tons of Menhaden from New Jersey state waters daily. In just 2 weeks they have wiped out miles upon miles of Menhaden. Our ecosystem cannot support this level of netting. Indiscriminate killing and by catch include right whales, striped bass, weakfish, bluefish, turtles and dolphins. We have been subject to constant harassment from low flying spotter planes and total disregard by reckless netting activities. The public is outraged and the media has been contacted.
As a local recreational fishermen, taxpayer and voter I am personal witness to the devastation caused by these vessels and the negative effects it has on New Jersey recreational fishing, local economies and water quality. I am asking you all to immediately suspend and eliminate the commercial netting of Menhaden in NJ state waters pending an environmental and ecological study. The amount of Menhaden being netted is unregulated and cannot be sustained and will be exhausted by these purse seiners. They are very efficient with their spotter planes, helicopters, 1/5 mile nets, vacuums, transport ships and dozens of 70-90 foot vessels all while being non discriminatory. This occurs Monday-Friday, sun up to sun down. I really question what the state of New Jersey gets out of this? The state permit fee of $200 is minimal but consequences on recreational fishing and water quality are tremendous. New Jersey is allowing out of state vessels, out of state trucking companies, out of state payrolls yielding poor recreational fishing and millions of dollars in lost sales tax revenue from anglers not spending money on motels, restaurants, fuel, tackle, bait, boat purchases, registration fees, food, recreational fishing charters, tolls, insurance, boat maintenance, etc while sacrificing the water quality for the state of New Jersey (Menhaden are huge filter feeders of algae and plankton which is now spiking due to high nitrogen levels from fertilizer run off, also a separate DEP issue). This is a violation of every citizens and anglers rights fishing New Jersey coastal waters.
The issue needs to be addressed ASAP before our waters suffer the same consequences of the Chesapeake Bay. Does the state even know or care where the hundreds of thousands of tons of Menhaden are trucked to or what they are used for? We are told for bait only but no one can be sure of this. Possibly being delivered to Corporations for processing? A single Corporation in Virginia operates 41 company-owned fishing vessels and 32 spotter planes for use in their fishing operations. Spotter planes are used to locate schools of fish and then directing the ships for the final catch with a purse seine net. Does the state care that out of state businesses are profiting from our resources at our expense on so many levels? The State of New Jersey including the citizens are getting ripped off in many ways, plain and simple. Once these vessels deplete our waters they simply move on to another while our Ocean resembles a desert. How can you as our elected officials allow this to occur? Who is profiting from the depletion of our resources and what gives these out of state netters rights to our resources which are owned by us the taxpayers and voters of New Jersey? State resources are not owned by elected officials or by a consortium of unregulated out of state netters. We elected you to office to represent our interests. That clearly is not being done on this issue.
As you can tell the anglers of New Jersey oppose the current management of the Menhaden fishery and the state needs to eliminate the commercial netting of Menhaden now, not next year or next month. Please support and pass the Bunker Bill A2304/S1140 ASAP.
The state is also now contemplating the requirement that recreational saltwater fishermen register and we all anticipate a saltwater license requirement and fee in 2011 or 2012. This will be an insult to us based on the above management policies. As a neighboring state governor has stated, the American public has a right to fish. You can expect stern and collective opposition from the hundreds of thousands NJ saltwater anglers, RFA, SSFF, voters and related sport fishing industries if something is not done to protect New Jersey marine resources ASAP. Specifically, Menhaden which is a staple food source for many migratory game fish of New Jersey while also filtering and purifying millions of gallons of seawater daily.
I also support the Reef Pot Bill and the elimination of all Gill Netting in New Jersey coastal waters which has resulted in the total collapse of our Weakfish population.
Thank you for your consideration. Please address our concerns and represent our interests as taxpayers, anglers and voters living and fishing in the State of NJ. You have a responsibility to protect our state resources for the greater interests of the public, not special interests and need to act now in support of Senator Van Drew's Menhaden Bill A2304/S1140.
Sincerely,
Cc: Fox5 News
WKXW 101.5 FM
