Highly Migratory Species Report

(from Jersey Coast Anglers Association February 2012 Newsletter)

It is January and it is often a good idea to review how good fishing was in 2011. It was a great offshore season that ended with two hurricanes. They smashed inland states like Vermont and New Hampshire.

Bluefin tuna in South Jersey did not visit long like they had years ago. North Jersey did better and had a good show of larger tuna. The Bluefin which are under such awful fishing pressure have clearly rebounded in US waters. Now if possible we must get the Europeans; to sharply cut back their excessive, illegal bluefin tuna commercial landings. Anglers were forced several years ago to accept that the US government will not enforce the current international rules to control other nations overfishing as permitted by law by sharply reducing these nation’s imports into our county.

Despite playing make believe since 1970 the European’s bluefin slaughter continues and has yet to be slowed, forget being controlled. Meanwhile all the US anglers’ sacrifices since 1976 when we were restricted to 4 bluefin tuna per anger have now been finally reduced to a Single fish per trip. ICCAT tuna international management is a true farce. Yet the US pays dues to this organization that has yet to accomplish what was intended beck in the 1970’s.

Yellowfin tuna fishing enjoyed a good fishing year offshore and in the Canyon’s. Big-eye and Longfin tuna were not abundant. Inshore yellowfin tuna fishing never showed up this year.

White Marlin a species devastated by Long Line fishing had a good recovery since the Straits of Florida long line fishing was banned. The reason this commercial fishery was closed, was to save the juvenile swordfish that were being slaughtered in unbelievable numbers. As this awful waste was restrained Swordfish landings have also recovered along the East Coast.

Dolphin fish also had a good year with more catches of bigger fish than in several years. King Mackerel and Spanish Mackerel were among the missing. Atlantic Bonita was not here in their normal numbers.

Inshore Bluefish, a species that has for years been abundant for anglers all summer long, were tough to find. Winter bottom fishing for Cod, Black Sea bass and Porgies has been great for several years.

MRIP a new system to better estimate anglers’ fish landings was federally mandated to be in place by 2009. It has yet to be used to honestly estimate anglers’ landings. MRFSS numbers has been run parallel to MRIP numbers since 2010.

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