Quotas are biting
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 09/15/07
BY ALISON HERGET
KEYPORT BUREAU
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MIDDLETOWN — Third-generation fisherman Richard Isaksen has been asking himself the same question all summer.
"There's plenty of fish out there. . . . Why can't we go fish?" he asked while standing on a Belford dock during a recent sunny weekday, his boat "Isaette" languidly docked nearby.
He and his fellow fishermen know the answer. But they don't like it.
Since the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, which sets fishing rules in federal waters, and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission put tighter restrictions on how much summer flounder can be caught, Isaksen said business has been severely hampered.
"We already lost our prime season," said Isaksen, 51. "We lost the whole month of August."
This year's fluke management plan calls for East Coast states to have a coast-wide reduction in the catch to 17.1 million pounds. That's down from 23.6 million pounds in 2006.
Fishermen such as Isaksen say the morass of regulations is causing the degradation of local fishing industries, as well as turning away young people from the profession because of the increasingly unstable profits it brings.
However, supporters of the quotas for summer flounder, or fluke, say the limits are necessary for conservation of the fish.
"I fish in New Jersey, so I understand their frustrations," said Matt Rand, director of Washington D.C.-based Marine Fish Campaign, a nonprofit environmental organization. "But we need to get a handle on the problem . . . of depleted fish populations."
The Belford Seafood Cooperative, of which Isaksen is a member, was formed in 1952 when fishermen banded together to get a better price for their catch.
However, in recent months, profits have been far from handsome. And in August, the co-op had to lay off a dock manager, Isaksen said.
Joe Branin, co-op general manager, estimated each vessel has lost at least $30,000 since mid-July. The co-op gets 15 percent of profits from the catch.
"Fluke are at a 25-year high, and they cut back on the quota," Branin said. "It's just not right the way we're treated. We just want to work."
Charles Kelly Sr., 45, a fisherman in Belford who is not part of the co-op, said each year about 70 percent of his income comes from fluke. He called the quota "devastating."
"We're barely paying our bills," he said. "It's very hard for us to make a living right now."
"Some of the fishermen are thinking about selling their boats. But who's going to buy them?" he asked.
The outlook for fishermen could be even more grim next year.
The council and commission in August proposed a 2008 limit of 15.77 million pounds. That number is subject to approval by the National Marine Fisheries Service, and some fishing advocates worry it could go even lower, to near 12 million pounds.
Because the catch quota is subdivided throughout the year, Isaksen had to wait more than seven weeks before going out for fish Labor Day weekend. He said he's spent a lot of the downtime fixing his boat.
Two trips since Labor Day weekend have netted about 6,900 pounds of fish. Isaksen will consider himself lucky if he can squeeze in another trip before the next regional quota is reached.
"This is just another nail in the coffin here," Isaksen said of the fluke quota.
Staff writer Kirk Moore contributed to this report.
Alison Herget: (732) 888-2621 or aherget@app.com
