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by Ed Cherry
(from Jersey Coast Anglers Association September 2004 Newsletter)
The proposed striped bass regulations have not been without controversy. Striped bass regulations in New Jersey are always the source of tremendous deliberation and controversy. The current proposed regulations became so controversial because of the short time the public had to review and respond before the Assembly Natural Resources Committee voted on the regulations. Remember in order to change striped bass regulations a bill must be passed and signed into law. Usually, regulations so controversial would be reviewed as part of a lengthy process, allowing everyone time to discuss and respond to the proposals. You just can’t rush something this complex. The Division of Fish and Wildlife asked JCAA representatives not to publish or publicly discuss the proposed regulations prior to the Striped Bass Board meeting on May 25th. The Division made the same request of the all the participants who were given an early review of the proposals. JCAA honored that request with the provision that a representative of the Division would attend the JCAA meeting on May 25th to explain the regulations. The Assembly Natural Resources Committee hearing was held on June 14th. The three public hearings were held within the first 7 days of June. Because of the lack of time for careful review, some of the pitfalls of the proposed regulations were not discovered until the day of the Assembly hearing. As an example, the legislation passed by the Assembly committee allowed one fish between 24” – 28” and another fish over 34”. The Division assumed this would require only a 30% increase in the bonus tag program to allow for keeping one fish between 28” – 34”. They had not considered that every New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware or visiting angler would require a bonus tag to take a fish between 28” – 34”. Currently in New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware there is not opportunity to take a legal striped bass between 24” < 28”. Only New Jersey has the slot limit fish. The resulting paperwork for this bonus tag program would have created a massive expense for the Division. It also would have allowed for the overfishing of the bonus tag program due to a lack of supervision. Remember, the bonus tag program is a quota-based fishery and any overage must be made up in the following year. As members of the Delaware River Basin Commission, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware have always tried to have the same regulations since the early ‘90’s. The proposed regulations would have ended that practice.
JCAA shared these concerns at the Assembly hearing but Bill A3000 supporting the original proposals was passed out of committee. A3000 then passed the Assembly.
Since the passage of A3000, the striped bass bonus program has been suspended by the Division of Fish and Wildlife. The Division will honor the outstanding tags but will not re-issue new tags. Therefore, fishermen who do not already possess tags will not have the option of keeping the 3rd fish of 28”-34” unless the Division decides to reinstate the program.
Now the Senate must act. They can pass the current bills (A3000 and matching senate bill S1691) as passed by the Assembly or they can amend S1691 the bill to reflect 2 fish at 28 inches. If the bill is amended the Assembly can reconsider the amended bill and reach agreement. The original legislation amended and passed by the Assembly is posted at<http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/>. The Senate staff told JCAA that the Senate Environmental Committee will meet on September 27th and will consider this bill’s legislation at that time. This meeting is open to the public. Check the calendar at the New Jersey Legislative Homepage <http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/>.
JCAA has received many phone calls from clubs and individuals supporting the JCAA position of two fish at 28 inches, and one letter disagreeing with it. The letter of disagreement came from one of our member clubs that had not attended a JCAA meeting in the last year. They did not attend the meeting when the Division made a presentation at JCAA’s regular monthly meeting or the special striped bass meeting held by JCAA to solicit comments from its member clubs and vote on a position. The groups in support of our position were disappointed that the Assembly passed the current bill. However, some of them did not attend the special JCAA meeting, the public meetings or the Assembly hearing. We send emails, we announce hearings at the JCAA special meetings and we make sure the press has all of this information to disseminate to the public. At the three public hearings, fewer than 100 people were in attendance. There were many competing interests surrounding this legislation. In order to support their own point of view, some legislators or bureaucrats will discount the letters or statements of organizations like JCAA and give them no more weight than a letter or statement from and individual. They only count our number of members when it is to their advantage and we agree with them. If we oppose them, they act as though our opinions are for individuals rather than for the thousands of anglers we represent.
The job of JCAA is to make sure you have the information you need to make an informed decision. We set up meetings to discuss this information and come up with possible positions. We deliberate those positions; we then take a vote on a position by a democratic process. Each club has one vote and majority rules. We make sure that position is passed on to the appropriate legislator, group or person. We make sure you know when and where you can voice your opinion and be heard. But we can’t attend the meeting for you. When you support a position taken by JCAA or the NJ Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs, you still need to show up, write letters, make phone calls and make sure your legislator knows the JCAA speaks for you and you support that position. That has always been the way we operate and it has not changed.
Remember that the ASMFC Technical committee regards 2 fish at 28 inches and the proposed legislation of 1 fish at 24 to < 28 inches and 1 fish at 34 inches or greater as being statistically identical within the management plan in terms of mortality and conservation.
Any bill will have to come from the Senate Environment Committee. Here are the members of that committee and their addresses. If you care about Striped Bass please write or call!
Senator Bob Smith (D)
Legislative District 17
216 Stelton Rd.
Suite E-5
Piscataway, NJ 08854 (732) 752-0770
Senator Stephen M. Sweeney (D)
Legislative District 3
Kingsway Commons
935 Kings Highway
Suite 400
Thorofare, NJ 08086
14 East Commerce St.
3rd Floor
Bridgeton, NJ 08302
1 New Market St.
Salem, NJ 08079
(856) 251-9801 (Thorofare)
(856) 455-1011 (Bridgeton)
(856) 339-0808 (Salem)
Senator Andrew R. Ciesla (R)
Legislative District 10
852 Highway 70
Brick, NJ 08724
(732)-840-9028
Senator John H. Adler (D)
Legislative District 6
1916 Route 70 East
Suite 3
Cherry Hill, NJ 08003
(856) 489-3442
Senator Henry P. McNamara (R)
Legislative District 40
191 Godwin Ave.
2nd Floor
P.O. Box 68
Wyckoff, NJ 07481
(201) 848-9600
In addition to the members of the Environmental Committee please send a copy to both Governor McGreevey and Senator Codey. Their addresses are:
Senator Richard J. Codey (D)
(Senate President) Legislative
District 27
449 Mount Pleasant Ave.
West Orange, NJ 07052
(973)–731-6770
James E. McGreevey, Governor
PO Box 001
Trenton, NJ 08625
609-292-6000
