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by Tom Siciliano
(from Jersey Coast Anglers Association September 2004 Newsletter)
I can’t believe that it’s the end of August already. The good news is the fishing will only get better as fall approaches. Now is the time to plan your fall fishing trips to take advantage of the great fishing and great weather without the crowds of summer. One of the events that should definitely be on your calendar is the 13th annual Governor’s Surf Fishing Tournament. The date is October 3rd and is held at Island Beach State Park. Last year the event drew over 1000 anglers (255 of them children) and is a great way to spend the day with the family. There are junior prizes in addition to the adult prizes. Adults do not dominate the winners. In fact, last year 11-year-old Travis Laureigh of Bayville, Ocean County took home the Governor’s Trophy for the largest striped bass.
Well, it has happened. The Striped Bass Bonus Program has been suspended according to John Geiser in his August 6th column. The ramifications of this are in Ed Cherry’s column. Also in Ed’s column are the details of the chaos that the Striped Bass regulations are in.
The ASMFC met on August 18th and voted New Jersey out of compliance. William Hogarth, Director of the National Marine Fisheries Service, has sent a letter of non-compliance to Governor McGreevey. The clock has started and there is a real threat that we could be facing a moratorium on the fishing for Striped Bass this fall until the Senate passes a bill.
You will recall that the NJ assembly passed a bill calling for one fish at 24”-28” and one fish over 34” and a bonus fish at over 28”. In order to keep the most commonly caught fish you would need a bonus tag and there is a real danger that we could go over the quota. The JCAA tried to explain this to the legislators. The JCAA position of 2 fish at 28” and a bonus fish over 28” keeps the bonus program as status quo and would not require any increased work for the DEP staff. The program could operate as it has since the bonus program was adopted in 1991.
Unfortunately for New Jersey anglers, the Senate adjourned for the summer right after they passed the budget. The earliest that a bill can be brought to a vote in the Senate is October 4.
Therefore, a moratorium is a real possibility. In order to minimize the moratorium a bill must be passed in the Senate as soon as possible. The JCAA still feels that 2 fish at 28” is the best way to go. If you feel the same we urge you to call or write your senator and ask that they support a 2 fish at 28” bill. In any case, insist that your senator makes sure that a striped bass bill gets voted on at the earliest possible date.
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! The names and addresses are listed in Ed Cherry’s column.
While you are in the writing mood why not pen another letter and ask for adequate funding for the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife. The Division doesn’t get anywhere near enough funds from the state to do its job. It certainly would be great if the angling public received even a small portion of the sales taxes of fishing-related items, boating fuel taxes, increased boating fees that they pay into the state’s coffers. If the state allocated a fair portion of the taxes they receive from anglers back to the Division of Fish and Wildlife, there would be no need for additional fees such as a license of any kind. Nor would there be a need to cut back on programs like the Striped Bass Bonus Program.
An example of how the state spends your money is “The Fast Track Program” which was drafted and passed in the Assembly and Senate in just five days and signed quickly. It will require 150-200 new DEP employees to operate. Here are new jobs while the Division of Fish and Wildlife has difficulty getting the funding to manage the small staff they have.
It is time for you, the angling public, to pick up a pen and write to your legislator and request additional funding for the Division of Fish and Wildlife. Only then will you begin to enjoy the freedom to fish without having to worry about additional fees.
Of course, we will still have other issues to deal with. One of these is the increasing effort of some groups to force “No Fishing Zones” on anglers. These efforts go by a few names such as Marine Protected Areas or Marine Sanctuaries. The salesmen these groups have working for them are slick. I listened to the spokesperson for one group and they would have convinced me if I did not have a clear understanding of the issues. They will convince a lot of the non-angling public. Therefore, fishermen must stand together to fight these efforts. If not we will fall slowly one at a time and we will lose much of the freedom we have enjoyed pursuing our passion. There will be fewer and fewer places to fish. The remaining areas will then have increased fishing pressure and run the risk of being overfished while fish in the sanctuaries will thrive.
In between fishing trips your JCAA will be attending meetings, writing letters and talking to influential people in Trenton and Washington. We thank you for your support but we really need you to get involved in the fisheries management process.