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FISHERIES MANAGEMENT & LEGISLATIVE REPORT
by Tom Fote
(from Jersey Coast Anglers Association November 2001 Newsletter)
FISHERIES MANAGEMENT & LEGISLATIVE REPORT
by Tom Fote
(from Jersey Coast Anglers Association November 2001 Newsletter)
During the last four months I had a chance to meet with all three candidates for
Governor. I personally delivered to each
candidate a letter about JCAA’s position on subway cars and asked them to respond
directly to our membership. I asked that any
response must be received before the November Newspaper went to press. As of this date I have received a response from
only Mayor Jim McGreevey, which is included below. JCAA
does not endorse candidates but we try to provide our members with information as
candidates make it available to us. The
letter below is a positive response to our request and Mayor McGreevey’s letter makes
it clear that he supports the artificial reef program and will, as we requested, reopen
the discussion on use of subway cars.
Thomas Fote
Jersey Coast Anglers Association &
New Jersey Federation of Sportsmen Clubs
Legislative Chairman
22 Cruiser Court
Toms River NJ, 08753
Dear Tom,
Thank you for contacting me regarding New Jersey’s Artificial Reef Program.I strongly support the New Jersey’s Artificial Reef Program, and as Governor, I will work with anglers like you to improve this program further.
New Jersey offers a wide variety of
opportunities for our $2 billion recreational fishing industry. From striped bass and American shad fishing in
the Delaware River to offshore sport fishing in the Atlantic Ocean, recreational fishing
thrives in New Jersey. This is an important
part of New Jersey’s economy and quality of life.
We need to enhance recreational fishing opportunities through the state’s Artificial Reef program. If elected Governor, I will increase the state’s construction of artificial reefs by placing dense materials like old ships and barges, concrete ballast tire units, concrete and steel demolition debris, and dredge rock on the sea floor within designated reef sites. I will also direct my staff to examine whether old subway cars can be used safely to construct artificial reefs. We will be asking the Jersey Coast Anglers Association and New Jersey Federation of Sportsmen Clubs to be part of the process.
Thank you for writing. I hope I can count on your support in my campaign for Governor.
With all good wishes,
James E. McGreevey
Many anglers approached me at the
Governor’s Tournament complaining about the gill-netters along Island Beach State
Park. I have also received emails on the topic that asked me if it was legal and, if it
was, what is JCAA going to do about it. The anglers in the boats that called me complained
that they saw striped bass in the net boats and there was no law enforcement out there. I
tried to explain that it is legal and that this has been going on for years. It is the
same time that many of the species are close to the beach. The boat anglers have been
having the same problem all year. The way the law reads right now is that these net boats
can come right up to the beach and fish wherever they want. The only restrictions apply to
bait boats and in gill netting in the bays. I then explained that because of September 11
what little law enforcement we had in the ocean is now nil. This always happens at this
time of year when they move the nets from offshore to inshore and the surf anglers start
seeing them. This has been going on for the
30 years that I have been fishing Island Beach Park.
I informed them that at the first Governor’s Tournament, ten years ago, I had
taking the State Director of Fish & Wildlife and the Commissioner of DEP to a spot on
the beach to fish and there was a blitz of bluefish on the beach. Before we could pull a fish out of the blitz a net
boat set his net and proceeded to run his boat through the school of fish to chase them. I recognized the boat and realized it was a part
timer and one that had received fishing violations. Even
though the bluefish were stretched out for miles off the beach this individual wanted to
ruin our opportunity just because he could. I
turned to the Commissioner and Director and asked them the question, “What were they
were going to do about this” and they shrugged their shoulders and said they would
look into it. It is ten years later and the
problem is still there. That is why I stay
involved in JCAA so we can address this problem.
At the present time no organization
has the money to take on this battle. In
Florida it took a concerted effort of tens of thousands of anglers that worked hundreds of
hours, a paid staff dedicated to this one issue, almost ten million dollars and five
years. With three groups working together in
NJ we could not get two hundred people to show up for a rally in Trenton to protect
fishing rights. Years ago JCAA ran an ad in
the Fishermen The Fisherman Magazine for a couple of months telling anglers that if
everyone one of them just sent in two dollars from the million anglers in NJ we could take
on these tough issues. The advertisement
generated $22 from 11 people. You cannot
address a lot of problem for $22 problems with $22.
Right now JCAA is stretched to the
limit trying to fight the battles on menhaden, striped bass, bluefish, weakfish, scup,
tuna, and many other species. We are fighting
to protect habitat, beach access for anglers and four wheel drives, fighting against
Marine Protected Areas, and working on PCB cleanup. We
are still trying to make sure that harmful material is not dumped into the ocean and to
protect the artificial reef program. It is amazing that we are doing so much with so
little help and money. It is also amazing
that we accomplish this with all volunteers.
Here is a fine example. One of the clubs I belong to has in the bylaws
that they will not get involved in fish politics. They
do not want to get involved but just fish and promote flyfishing. It is their right.
But let an issue affect them and everyone is asking what is JCAA doing and
why have they not stopped this, even though they have not been giving JCAA any support
financially or otherwise. What I really find
interesting is the loudest noise sometimes comes from the people that have done nothing
but talk about it. When I ask them if they
will contribute to one of these organizations, they say no, but they tell me what we
should do: “find some rich benefactor to help fight the battle.” Then I ask,
“Can you donate some time,” and they say no they are too busy working and
fishing. Some of them are the same people
that keep attacking JCAA and other organizations on the internet.
I guess that the answer to your
question “Would JCAA like to address this problem?” is “Yes.” But
until we get more help both financially and with more volunteers JCAA is not going to able
to give it the attention it deserves. Remember, to get this changed we need to get a bill
through the legislature and signed by the governor which is no small task. We are still waiting for the Menhaden Bill to
pass. The Menhaden Bill affects no New Jersey
commercial fishermen but it still has taken many years and thousands of dollars to get
just this far.
If you want change and you want protection of the resource you must get involved. You need to get out from behind your computer and find out how you can be more productive to help in the battle. Research what is necessary to get what you want accomplished and join an organization that you think can accomplish it with your help. Stop attacking the organizations that are trying to help you and instead dedicated the time and resource resources to help them accomplish the task. Most important, remember this will be a long battle and you commit to the long haul. I would be overjoyed to put together a two-day workshop in New Jersey or anywhere else to discuss the issues, look for solutions and how you can get involved to help to accomplish this. So let me know if you are interested in making the commitment and JCAA will do it. Nothing will happen if you leave it for the next person and do not get involved.
The JCAA decided last year that it will
no longer support the transfer of unused recreational quota to the commercial fishery as
has been done for the past 5 years in the Bluefish Fishery Management Plan (Bluefish FMP). Feeling so strongly about the massive transfer
that was approved at the joint summer meeting of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries
Commission (ASMFC) and the Mid-Atlantic Marine Fishery Council (MAMFC), we sent our
representative to the American Sportfishing Association annual meeting to win its support
in formally opposing this transfer and the practice in the future. After our presentation,
the ASA representatives voted unanimously to support the JCAA request. We are now calling
for all state, regional and national recreational fishing groups to join us in this
campaign. We are also seeking the support of
the environmental groups. They have been
extremely quiet on this issue. We wonder if
they are concerned about offending the commercial interests rather than worrying about the
stocks. Let us protect the bluefish stocks
and rebuild them.
When Al Ristori was one of the original appointees to the MAMFC, there was concern
voiced about the commercial purse seining of bluefish and pressure mounted to develop an
FMP to address the problem. There was never any question that the bluefish fishery was
dominated by recreational participation and that in most years the harvest was over 90%
recreationally caught. It was obvious that bluefish was extremely important economically
to the recreational sector. Striped bass was the glory fish in those years, but bluefish
represented a far greater economic benefit to the recreational fishing industry.
From the time purse seining was recognized as a problem it took the Council years
to develop a management plan and the final plan was diverted from the original intent,
which was to protect the recreational fishery. In fact, nowhere in the current plan is
there language that refers to protecting the fishery from an expanding purse seine fishery
and protecting recreational fishing interests.
What got me involved with the ASMFC in 1988 was a meeting on the development of the
Bluefish FMP and when I heard what was being proposed I got mad as hell. The discussion
revolved around raising the quota allocation from 7% to 20% to allow for an expansion in
the commercial fishery when controlling commercial expansion was the purpose of the plan
in the first place. At the same time, they were talking about putting bag limits in place
to reduce the recreational harvest. When the plan was published I voted against it calling
it the worst management plan I had ever seen. That became obvious over time with all the
amendments made to it. It has been anything
but a plan to prevent commercial expansion and protect a recreational fishery.
The current iteration of the plan calls for an 87% recreational – 13%
commercial split of the Total Allowable Landings (TAL). Since implementation these harvest
ratios have never been met with the commercial side exceeding its allotment every year.
Presently, the commercial user group has been harvesting almost 50% of the TAL and it
seems to get worse with each passing year.
How did fishery managers ever implement this fairy tale of an FMP in the first
place? Simply, every time the plan called for the commercial side to sustain a cut in
landing poundage they found a creative way to maintain it at approximately 12 million
pounds. The first way they got around a reduction was the implementation of a “three
year running average” to determine commercial landings. This meant that nothing could
be done until the plan was in place for three years. When it became obvious that even
using three year averaging the commercial landings would have to be reduced, the managers
came up with a new method. They didn’t try to hide what they were doing anymore -
they simply worked up a scheme to transfer landings from the recreational sector whenever
it was determined that recreational landings would not meet their allowable landings for
the year.
The unholy transfer started out as a couple of million pounds from the recreational
side of the ledger to the commercial to help the poor commercial fishermen maintain their
harvest level. In 2001, the commercial transfer has become so large that it almost doubles
their total allowable landings. This transfer
of allocation, which is actually a transfer of released fish by recreational anglers
concerned with conservation, goes to the commercial sector so they can be sure the
bluefish end up dead in a net and on their way to market. That means the conservation
benefit recreational fishermen have brought to the fishery is completely negated by the
transfer. Since the season will be longer, there may be a larger bycatch of striped bass.
To add insult to injury, when some recreational representatives requested an
increase in the recreational bag limit from ten to fifteen fish so subsistence fishermen
could bring home more to feed their families, the state directors, regional administrator
from the National Marine Fisheries Service and commercial fishermen all opposed the move
as being detrimental to conservation of the resource! They made this argument in the face
of NMFS own data that showed the impact of such a move on the total harvest by
recreational fishermen would be inconsequential. We finally had to go over their heads to
our Congressmen and the head of NMFS to get this simple request passed at both the Council
and the Commission.
Today, the transfer is no longer just a method used to justify a commercial bycatch
fishery. It is now removing such a large
portion of the stocks that it is affecting the rebuilding by removing large numbers of
juvenile bluefish, which the commercial sector targets in this fishery. It is having a
negative impact on the rebuilding of the stocks, which has lagged well behind the original
NMFS projections. When was the last time you saw a significant blitz of bluefish along the
beach or could count on a summer of consistent fishing for bluefish on the inshore lumps
and in the Mudhole? Not for many, many years.
For all of these reasons and more, the JCAA and the American Sportfishing
Association are calling on Bill Howgarth the new head of NMFS to block any future transfer
of quota from the recreational to the commercial side of the ledger.
At the last JCAA meeting Lee Crockett
discussed the Farr Bill and answered questions from the audience. Club representatives returned to their clubs with
information to discuss and this bill will be on the agenda for the next JCAA meeting. We may be voting on our position at the next
meeting. I am expecting to receive your
comments prior to the meeting or you can send you comments with your club representative. If you want more information, check the JCAA
website for the October Newspaper or contact Heidi Taylor, Outreach Coordinator at:
Marine Fish Conservation Network
660 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Suite 302B
Washington D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-543-5509
Fax: 202-543-5774
www.conservefish.com