PRESIDENT’S REPORT
By Mark Taylor
(from Jersey Coast Anglers Association July 2000 Newsletter)
At last months JCAA meeting we had
two guest speakers, Rob Winkel and Joe Meyers from the New Jersey Division of Fish Game
and Wildlife Bureau of Law enforcement. The talk was very informative about the
process of their jobs. There are a lot of people who complain that the state is not
enforcing the laws. If you were at the JCAA meeting to hear how understaffed and how
much they do with what little they have, you would be impressed. We can all help in
stopping the lawbreakers on land and marine environment by calling one of the numbers
below.
Northern Region – (908)
735-8240 (counties of Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex,
Union and Warren)
Central Region – (609)
259-2120 (counties of Burlington, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
Southern Region – (856)
629-0555 (counties of Atlantic, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem)
Marine Enforcement Region
– (609) 748-2050
When you call give as much
information as possible. If you desire to remain anonymous you can. The more
specific you are with the information the faster someone can act on the violators and
apprehend them.
There is also another program
you can call to report violations. This one is “Operation Game Thief”.
Operation Game Thief involves you in helping to stop crimes. You may be
eligible to receive a reward for providing confidential information which leads to the
issuance of a summons. If you have knowledge of fish or wildlife violations they
want to hear from you. Operation Game Thief is a program of the New Jersey State
Federation of Sportsman’s Club Inc. and the Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife.
When you call make sure to be as specific as possible. Your call can remain
anonymous. We all can make a difference in protecting our resource. The toll
free number is (800) 222-0456.
On June 10, 2000 Jersey Coast
Anglers Association held its sixth annual fluke tournament, which set a new record.
This tournament was the largest on the East Coast with 854 boats competing with up
to six anglers per boat.
All the time and effort that
Rich Pasko and Phil Celmer put into this event made it a big success. I would like
to thank the families of these two gentlemen for being understanding while they worked on
this tournament. I would also like to thank all of our major sponsors in the
tournament for their continuing support. They are: Resorts Casino Hotel, which
hosted our awards ceremony in Atlantic City and put up the $10,000 in port prize money,
Cobia Yamaha, Boater’s World Marine Centers, the Fisherman Magazine, Jersey Anglers
Magazine, Penn, UFA, Raytheon Star brite, Canyon Gear Outfitters, Point Pleasant Ford and
ShoreLand’r Trailers.
We had a great turnout at the
awards ceremony in Atlantic City. I hope everyone had a great time. We had
three rooms set up for the drawing; the Ballroom, the Starlight room and the Buffet room.
Gary Caputi did an outstanding job as the events Master of Ceremony. There were some
husband and wife teams that helped assist in registering and selling t-shirts/hats.
They were; Ed and Marilyn Cherry, Paul and Bernadette Turi, Rich and Joan Esposito,
Phil and Miran Celmer and Tom and Lynda Fote. JCAA and I would like to thank you for
your time and help at this event. This year’s Grand Prize Winner was ticket #
0480, held by Patrick E. Mickles of Maple Shade, NJ. Congratulations to Patrick and
his family. We hope you enjoy the Cobia boat.
There is a piece of legislation
sponsored by Senator Bassano concerning Black Bear in New Jersey (S1162/A2308).
Senator Bassano works very closely with us on fishing legislation and is a good
friend of JCAA but we oppose these bills. These bills will prohibit Black Bear
hunting and will also eliminate the public from the process. This is a big problem.
The fish and game council does a great job in managing the wildlife in this state.
These bills will take that job out of their hands, which is bad news for sportsmen
and the public of New Jersey. In this newsletter you will see the New Jersey State
Federation of Sportsman Clubs position statement on bills S1162/A2308 by George P. Howard,
Executive Director. Read the statement carefully and contact your legislator.
Tell them you oppose it and vote no on bills S1162 and A2308.
It’s time to start
thinking of the Sportsperson of the Year Award. We need people to submit a name and
a reason why you are nominating this person. It will be brought up at our next
meeting and voted on at the October meeting so we can present it at the awards dinner on
November 5. If you are interested in helping out on the dinner committee let me
know. Last year’s recipient of this award was Penn Fishing and Tackle Mfg. Co.
Penn is world renowned not only for its quality tackle but also for its commitment
to protecting marine resources. Betty Henze and Ed Mesunas were there to accept the
award. The Awards Dinner proved to be good time for all. Hope to see you at
this year’s dinner on November 5.
Just a reminder, our June 27,
2000 meeting will be the last before the summer. The next JCAA meeting will be September
26, 2000. Even though there are no meetings during the summer we will try and keep you and
your club informed about what is going on. The easiest way to keep informed is by
email. Make sure you and your club are on the JCAA Email List. In order to be
added to the JCAA email list, send an email to <tfote@jcaa.org>.
Please include the following information and the word SUBSCRIBE in the subject
line.
Name
Address
Telephone
Fax
Fishing Club or Environmental
Organization
What species is your primary concern?
Boat Angler or Surf Angler
Would you be interested in serving on
one of JCAA's species committees or in any other capacity?
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