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by Tom Fote
(from Jersey Coast Anglers Association October 2003 Newsletter)
On Tuesday, September 9, 2003, I attended this hearing in Toms River, NJ. The public hearing document is some 93 pages long. The plan itself is 1,900 pages plus some 200+ pages of appendices! How manageable can a 1,900 page plan be? The plan attempts to manage 12 ground fish species with a total of 20 stocks.
The only fish of these 12 species of any significance to inhabit New Jersey is the winter flounder. The 1996 Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries conservation law has placed the regulation of winter flounder under the auspices of The New England Fisheries Management Council.
Recent lawsuits have forced the Council to more stringently manage areas that hold young fish that are covered under this plan. This is really a New England problem, but the council has seen fit to include New Jersey stocks (which in recent trawl surveys appear to be healthy). Our commercial catches of these fish is very small compared to the huge New England landings. New Jersey is not part of the problem, and should not be part of the solution. New Jersey seems to be included in order to ease some of the suffering being imposed on northern commercial interests.
This plan apparently affects some New Jersey commercial fishermen in an excessively restrictive manner. Probably to the point of putting some out of business. The moderators were unable to satisfactorily answer questions many of the commercial fishermen present asked. There were just too many options and possibilities within the plan. There is an attempt to close a large area in federal waters 3 miles off Sandy Hook to Asbury Park to around 35 miles offshore to ground fishing. There simply is no justification for this closure.
Recreational fishermen are being asked to apply for a federal permit to fish for winter flounder in federal waters off New Jersey. This is a first step towards a saltwater federal license. 90% of the New Jersey recreational winter flounder catch comes from within state waters, and most of that probably originates in rivers and bays. This permit is a totally unwarranted measure that serves no statistical, or scientific value, and should be stricken from the plan and never be revisited. The regulations should not be imposed.
The entire plan should be scrapped and rethought. New Jersey and recreational fishermen do not need to be included in a solution to a New England problem that was caused strictly by New England interests.
The document may be downloaded or read at http://www.nefmc.org/
The deadline for comments on Amendment 13 is 5 p.m., October 15, 2003.
Oral comments may be made at any of the scheduled
public hearings.
Written comments should be forwarded to:
New England Fishery Management Council
50 Water Street, Mill 2
Newburyport, MA 01950
Fax 978/465-3116
Written comments also may be sent via email to
comments@nefmc.org
Please label “Comments on Groundfish Amendment 13”.