NJMFC doesn’t help fishermen
by J.B. Kasper
Trenton Times Sunday, March 14, 2008
If you have ever played poker, you know there is always some lucky person who seems to have all the cards. Often the person will lay down his cards after being called and say "read them and weep" as he gathers in the pot to the dismay to the other players that through they had the winning hand. Well that’s the way I felt as I stood watching the goings on at the recent New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council (NJMFC). Oh yea, I also had a case of Dejavou. Seems like I had seen all the goings on before.
To begin with a meeting that effects so many people (besides stripers, summer flounder are the most soughed after fish along the Atlantic coast) should have been given the respect that it was due. Maybe a better way to put it is that the Council should have had a little more respect for it’s constituents, namely the recreational fishermen.
Why would the council hold a meeting at 4 p.m. in the afternoon when most of the people it impacts, the recreational fishermen, are still working to earn a living? Why would the council hold the meeting in an out of the way place like the public library in Galloway township just out of Atlantic City, an hour and a half from the western part of the state, two hours from Raritan Bay and even farther from the northwestern part of the state and eastern Pennsylvania, where a lot of fishermen who fish for fluke come from? Why would they hold the meeting in a room the size of postage stamp when they knew a lot of people were going to attend?
Heck we all know the answer to the previous questions. No matter what they say, they simply have no respect for the recreational fishermen and did not want a lot of people to show up dragging out the time they would have to spend on the fluke regulations.
To prove my point I offer these comparisons: When the Fish and Game council holds it’s game code hearings, which are often controversial, the usually hold it at the State Museum Annex in Trenton. The meeting usually starts around 6:30 p.m. Good facilities, plenty of room, reasonable starting time for people who have an interest in the meeting to get to and centrally located.
When the Fish & Game Council meets for it’s monthly meeting it meets at the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area. Also centrally located and good facilities. Most public meetings that the Division of Fish & Wildlife holds on fisheries management are held at the Ocean County Municipal Building in Toms River, starting at 7 p.m. Again centrally located, good facilities and
and reasonable staring time.
Simply put the meeting should have been held at a reasonable time in a centrally located place and at a more spacious facility. This is not the first time this has been done, as a matter of fact it happens every year. The truth is the council does not want to be inconvenienced by moving the meetings to a more centrally located place. Anglers need to start demanding better facilities for these meetings, especially when it costs $3 a gallon to get there.
As I said it was de javou. Once again the council put up five options on the fluke regulations, highlighted the one they favored and proceeded to tell those in attendance that they did not have their mind made up and were open to suggestions. Of course every suggestion that was offered by people was rejected. Among the suggestions were a reduction in the bag limit. Close the fishing for one day a week and add the two weeks worth of days on to the end of the season to extend the fishing. A slot limit that would allow anglers to take a couple smaller fish for the table but less fish over all. Can’t be done we were told or won’t make a difference we were told. Same story as the last four years.
When it was all said and done only two of the five proposals held any merit. One proposal was for 8 fish at 18-1/2-inches with a season from May17 to October 6. The reason for shooting down this proposal was that if we went up to 18-1/2 inches it would lead to an even higher size limit next season and once a size limit is adopted it has never been lowered. While I agree with the reasoning behind opposing this proposal, I still do not believe that some compromise of a smaller bag limit, slot limit or partial closure would not have lead to a longer season.
The proposal that was adopted was 8 fish at 18 inches with a season of May 24 to September 7. It was also stated at the meeting that the National Marine Fisheries service had sent a letter to the council saying that if they felt fishermen are over harvesting their quota in July they could shut the fishing down just as they did in New York last season. So while we have a fluke season for 2008, don’t catch too many fish or they will close the season down creating a real problem for party and charter boat, tackle shops and other people who make a living off the fluke fishing, not to mention the average fisherman.
The truth is the way they do their statistical gathering, there is no way they could know how many fish are caught, at best it’s just a guess at what is being caught, and that is being kind.
There is no question that the NJMFC is in a tough spot with the regulations, especially in the light of the faulty data, inflexible Magnuson-Stevens Act and the pressure from environmental extremist that put fish before human beings. However, recreational fishermen who spend millions of dollars in New Jersey deserve better consideration from the NJMFC who is supposed to be looking out for their interest.
Blackfish
NOAA Fisheries Service found that New Jersey has failed to implement measures necessary to fulfill its responsibilities under the tautog interstate fishery management plan. As a result, NOAA intends to close New Jersey’s commercial and recreational fishery for tautog on April 1. According to their data New Jersey's harvest is significant compared with that of other states, and that its recreational landings more than tripled in 2006. Accordingly, again according to their data, New Jersey’s failure to implement management measures will undermine the interstate conservation plan for the species. Under the rebuilding plan, each of the Northeastern states are required to reduce tautog fishing effort by about 26 percent over 2003 to 2005 average levels. On February 7, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission determined that New Jersey had not taken such measures.
Under the Atlantic Coastal Act, NOAA's Fisheries Service was obliged to conduct a review and make a decision within 30 days as to whether it concurred with the Commission’s findings, and whether the mandated measures are necessary for the conservation of the tautog resource. According to NOAA April 1 was selected for the closure date because it provides significant conservation benefits while allowing enough time to ensure that anglers, commercial fishermen and dealers are aware of the effective closure date.
According to NOAA the most recent landings data from 2006 shows New Jersey recreational anglers landed about 700,000 pounds of tautog, and commercial fishermen about 70,000 pounds. In 2006, Northeast fishermen landed about 4.3 million pounds of tautog, most of which was taken by recreational anglers. It should be noted that while the commercial catch is documented by landings, I sure would like to know how they came up with the recreational catch
The one thing about JB is he speakss the truth and does not pull punches......he hit this nail on the head!!!!!!!!!!!!!
