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by Tom Fote
(from Jersey Coast Anglers Association October 2004 Newsletter)
The next three months will be interesting. There will be two joint meetings of the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Council to discuss summer flounder, scup and seabass. At the December meeting we will be setting the bag and size limits for summer flounder, scup and seabass. At this time I am unsure of the schedule.
The American Sportfishing Association will be holding a summit in Hilton Head, SC and will be my first board meeting as a member of the board. ASA has set up a great program for the summit and you should try and attend if at all possible. Information is at their web page http://www.asafishing.org/asa/shows_events/summit/index.html.
The ASMFC will hold their annual meeting in early November. At that meeting we will deal with menhaden and striped bass, among others. There will also be meetings of the Habitat Committee, Advisory Panel Oversight Committee and Policy Board. The striped bass and menhaden meetings will be particularly important. New Jersey will again look for an answer to our questions about the way Amendment 6 handles producing areas. We will also be looking at the stock assessment for striped bass that may have considerable impact on next year’s fishery.
We are still waiting for the Federal EIS for the proposal to open up the EEZ for striped bass fishing. It was scheduled for posting by the end of August but I have not seen it yet. The National Marine Fisheries Service originally intended to have hearings this fall if the EIS supported the opening. It is important for you to pay attention to any information that becomes public. Your attendance at any hearing will be vital.
In November I will also attend a retreat for the Board of Directors of the Marine Fish Conservation Network. They will be developing plans for possible Federal legislation for 2005.
As you can see, the next few months will be busy. The best way to keep in touch is by email. Go to the JCAA webpage at www.jcaa.org and fill out the subscription form at http://www.jcaa.org/Subscriber_Form.asp . If you have not received an email lately even though you registered some time ago, reregister to make sure your email address is up to date. If that doesn’t solve the problem, check to make sure your server isn’t blocking my email.
