President's Report

by John Toth

(from Jersey Coast Anglers Association May 2007 Newsletter)

Our fisheries are managed by various councils and all too often there are not enough voices on these councils to represent the interests of recreational anglers. I remember Tom Fote, our Legislative Chairperson, asking members of one of these councils if any of them have ever fished and not one of them raised their hands! Yet these same types of people are making the rules that we have to follow on fish size, limits and seasons!

Well, we have an opportunity to change that. Mr. Bruce Freeman retired from NJ’s Division of Fish & Wildlife Service to serve on JCAA’s Science and Research Center. As you read from the following letter I wrote to President Bush urging him and his staff to appoint Bruce to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, you can see that he has the necessary qualifications to represent us very well.

I have personally known Bruce for many years and I can attest that he is extremely knowledgeable on all aspects of fishing and he is a man of integrity and one that we can trust to support our interests well on this important Council.

I strongly urge you to write a similar letter to President Bush, your Senator and Congressman supporting Bruce Freeman’s nomination to the Mid-Atlantic Marine Fishery Management Council. This is a very good and rare opportunity to get a person on a management council who has the qualifications and the background we need to get some right decisions made. Your letter can be as long as mine, or even short as you like. Use my information in any manner to suit your needs, but please write. Spelling errors are OK!

The letters to Senators Lautenberg and Menendez and our congressional delegation are very similar to the letter written to President Bush and they can be accessed through the JCAA’s website (www.jcaa.org). We will also have their contact information on our web page.

Dear Mr. President:

The Jersey Coast Anglers Association (JCAA) is a state wide organization representing 75 fishing clubs in New Jersey. JCAA recommends that you direct Dr. William Hogarth, Assistant Director of the National Marine Fisheries Service and Commerce Secretary, Carlos Gutierrez to appoint Mr. Bruce Freeman to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC).

This year there are several at-large seats up for consideration on the MAFMC. The process to fill these vacancies requires the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection forwarding a list of nominees to our governor for review. Governor Corzine has recognized the outstanding qualifications of Mr. Bruce Freeman and has forwarded his nomination for a seat on the MAFMC to the National Marine Fisheries Service, who the JCAA strongly supports.

Mr. Freeman recently retired from the Division of Fish and Wildlife after more than 25 years of service to our state. During most of this time, he represented the Division Director on the MAFMC. He has done an admirable job working to protect our nation’s and states’ marine resources, while always representing New Jersey’s interests. His many years of service have allowed him to understand the very complex procedures of the MAFMC. He is also very familiar with all of the Council members, a distinguishing characteristic that made him effective while serving on the Council.

Since retiring, Mr. Freeman has volunteered his time on the Executive Board of the Jersey Coast Anglers Association and he serves as Chairman of our Science and Research Committee. His continued involvement in marine fisheries, conservation, fishery management, and especially his past experience on the Mid-Atlantic Council makes him an exceptional candidate to once again represent New Jersey. Because of these outstanding attributes, the Jersey Coast Anglers Association requests that you support Mr. Freeman appointment to the MAFMC.

Thank you for your continued support for the fishing constituents of our country!

Respectfully,
John Toth
President JCAA

cc.
Dr. William Hogarth
Assistant Director of the National Marine Fisheries Service
1315 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, Md. 20910
Carlos M. Gutierrez
Office of the Secretary
Mailstop 61
U.S. Department of Commerce
14th & Constitution Ave. NW
Washington DC 20230

Fluke Tournament

Our exciting Fluke Tournament is fast approaching on June 9th with all kinds of prizes and gala at the Trump Marina Casino in Atlantic City. See further details in this newsletter. We can use help with pulling this tournament together. Help is needed to send out materials to applicants, taking their info and even staffing the weigh stations at the 12 ports. Anybody interested should contact Fluke Tournament Director, Phil Celmer, at the JCAA Office (732) 506-6565.

JCAA Activities

Just what did your JCAA staff and volunteers do with their time during March/April? The following is an incomplete list of activities, but it provides a brief snapshot of some of the many meetings that JCAA volunteer, Tom Fote attended to represent our clubs and to interact with people who shape the future course of our fisheries. It does not cover all of the work many of our other JCAA volunteers did like pulling the Fluke Tournament together, ordering shirts, contacting vendors and other meetings concerning artificial reefs, NJ Marine Fisheries Council, NMFS Highly Migratory Species, funding for open space, etc. I particularly enjoyed going to the Outdoor Writers Workshop on March 29th that was co-sponsored by the JCAA and the NJ Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs. It provided Tom Fote, Bruce Freeman and I the opportunity to rub elbows with sportswriters. We continue to need their help in getting our message across to the public. It also provided an opportunity for both Tom Fote and I to discuss your important issues and concerns with the staff of the Division of Fish & Wildlife.

Tom Fote Schedule

March 20 Barnegat Bay Estuary Program (BBEP)
March 20 Salt Water Anglers of Bergen County Dinner
March 21 Marine Fish Conservation Network (MFCN) Meeting in DC and Congressional visits
March 22 Marine Fish Conservation Network (MFCN) Meeting in DC
March 23 Congressional visits in DC
March 27 BBEP Search Committee Meeting
March 27 JCAA General Meeting
March 28 NJMFC Reef Committee meeting
March 29 Outdoor Writers meeting
March 29 DEP Global Warming meeting
March 30 Looked at new equipment for JCAA in North Jersey
April 04 Festival Committee of the BBEP
April 04 MFCN Conference Call 
April 07 Pequest for Opening Day
April 10 BBEP Special Meeting
April 11 MFCN EXCOM Conference Call
April 12 Meeting on Fluke Tournament Survey
April 12 JCAA Board Meeting
April 14 NJEF Summit
April 16 10 am BBEP Conference Call
April 16 1pm DEP Meeting in Trenton on the Economic Value of Natural Resources
April 16 7pm BBEP
April 17 BBEP Search Committee
April 18 Congressional Conference Call
April 20 International Game Fish Dinner
April 27 Metropolitan Outdoor Press Association Dinner

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