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Fisheries Management & Legislative Reportby Tom Fote (from Jersey Coast Anglers Association February 2006 Newsletter) Times are changing Much has happened since the last JCAA Newspaper. Marty McHugh resigned as director of the Division of Fish and Wildlife and has taken a new job at DEP. Everyone from JCAA wishes Marty all the best in his new position. Dave Chanda is now acting director. Dave has a 26 year history with the Division and has been assistant director for some time. JCAA is looking forward to working with Dave in these difficult times. There is always controversy about fishing and hunting regulations but these controversies are minor when we look at the difficult decisions Dave is facing. From my perspective the most difficult problem will be dealing with budget constraints and the staffing problems that creates. The Division of Fish and Wildlife began facing significant staffing cutbacks during the Whitman administration and has continued to lose staff disproportionately to other state agencies. When the early retirement was offered by Governor Whitman, 6 people retired and only one vacancy was filled with a new hire. This hiring freeze has continued through all of the following governors. This would be manageable if the workload decreased or even remained the same but just the opposite is true. As an example, in 1992 New Jersey was administering 2 fisheries management plans and receiving money from federal agencies and directly from Congress. Fourteen years later, New Jersey is administering over 20 plans through Marine Fisheries. This includes regulations, stock assessment, and the personnel required to attend all the management board and technical committee meetings. This is just one example of a problem that is occurring throughout the Division. The other budget problem Dave Chanda is facing as acting director is basic funding issues for the Division. Because of the way the Division is structured, all fringe benefits are not paid by state monies but through monies collected through hunting and fishing licenses and federal grants. This practice began when that money went further but now those benefits are a major expense that is not covered by regular budget dollars in the same way they are covered at other agencies. In addition, Bradley Campbell has been replaced as Commissioner of DEP by Lisa Jackson. JCAA and Commissioner Campbell have had some disagreements during his tenure at DEP. However, we never doubted his commitment to the environment. Commissioner Campbell was the first commissioner to get the legislature to make a one-time appropriation to cover fringe benefits in 2005. He also did allow 250 subway cars to be used for the artificial reef program when the previous administration refused to consider this action. He also allowed for a bear hunt when the two previous administrations would not do so. JCAA wishes Brad well in his next endeavor. Lisa Jackson comes to the commissioner’s job from EPA. She has been working for DEP on a fellowship in the area of land use. We have served together on committees including the Barnegat Bay Estuarine Program and I am looking forward to looking together. Mark Taylor and I had the opportunity to fish with Lisa and her children at Pequest on opening day of trout season a few years ago. DEP is not an easy job. Not only will she need to cope with the problems in the Division of Fish and Wildlife but also she will be responsible for clean air, clean water, land use and protection of New Jersey’s resources. Combining management and enforcement makes for a difficult job. It is easy for ASMFC to develop rules without needing to administer the law enforcement component. All of that will be Lisa Jackson’s responsibility. JCAA is looking forward to working with Commissioner Jackson as she faces many challenges. Although we know the state has serious budget problems, dealing with the ongoing staffing problems at the Division of Fish and Wildlife will be one of the first challenges Commissioner Jackson will face. Now that Jon Corzine is officially New Jersey’s Governor, he has chosen Robert Menendez to replace him in the United States Senate. We have already reached out to Senator Menendez and his staff has responded positively to our request for a meeting. As a Senator, he must represent all of New Jersey’s citizens, a very different role than representing a single congressional district. The anglers of New Jersey will be looking at his handling of the reauthorization of the MagnusonAct. Read Tom Siciliano’s article in this newspaper for more information about this issue. JCAA has some problems with the present bill and need for Senators Menendez and Lautenberg to take a leading role in resolving these issues. Those of us who care about the environment are also looking for leadership in protecting the coast and the marine resources of New Jersey. We want to congratulate Senator Menendez and are looking forward to working together. The other change is the retirement of Bruce Freeman, JCAA’s 2005 Sportsperson of the Year. Bruce has been a valuable voice for the marine resource, commercial and recreational anglers. He represented New Jersey’s interest on the Mid-Atlantic Council, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and many other inter and intra state committees. Despite the fact that Bruce is really irreplaceable, we need a full-time replacement for him immediately. There is no way that the present personnel at the Division of Fish and Wildlife can absorb all of Bruce’s many tasks. Bruce Smith, President of JCAA, has already sent a letter to Governor Corzine stating our case for an immediate replacement. A copy of the letter is available if you email me at tfote@jcaa.org.
Article Below I got some interesting feedback from my email request for comments about the JCAA Newspaper. Some of you notice that I occasionally ramble a bit. For that reason, when I see articles that deal with issues directly I like to include them. Below you will find a number of articles. The most anxiety-producing is the article from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that deals with the long-term impact of pollution. Please read all the articles and send me your comments. If you don’t have email, send your comments addressed to me at the JCAA Office, 1201 Route 37 East, Suite 9, Toms River, NJ 08753. Let me know if you are interested in writing some articles for this newspaper.
ASMFC Winter 2006 Meeting February 20 - 23, Double Tree Crystal City Hotel Arlington VA,
PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE The preliminary agenda is subject to change. The agenda reflects current estimate of time required for scheduled Board meetings. February 20, 2006 9:00 AM 5:00 PM Habitat Committee 8:00 AM 10:00 AM South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries
Management Board 8:30 AM - 10:15 AM Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM Atlantic Menhaden Management Board
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