The NJ Menhaden Hearing took place in Toms River. Those in attendance represented recreational anglers and the menhaden bait industry. I was not surprised to hear that the recreational sector wanted to move ahead with the amendments and see cutbacks on the reduction fishery. The commercial bait fishery, fearing any changes that would affect them, supported status quo. It will be interesting to learn what took place at the other state hearings. You can go to the http://www.asmfc.org/ and click on the heading Breaking News to read Draft Addendum V to Amendment I to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden. You can go to the last two last month’s JCAA Newspaper on the web to see some other newspaper articles and my articles about the amendment. The ASMFC will accept public comment until 5PM (EST) on November 2, 2011.
I have not seen the technical committee report but, from what I have been told, it will not suggest any changes. This will not make some people happy, especially the people in Maine, New Hampshire and other northern jurisdictions. The recreational fishing industry is going through tough times in New Jersey and other states. The failure of the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council and the National Marine Fisheries Service to address the rebuilt stocks of summer flounder, scup and black sea bass creates low quotas and unnecessary closures. This leaves little to fish for in large parts of the season along the coast. The only fishery open year round is striped bass. This places considerable pressure on the striped bass stocks. When the striped bass fishery reopened there were many anglers who did catch and release. The people who fished for dinner targeted black sea bass, summer flounder and scup. It was not long ago that 40% of the directed trips in New Jersey were for summer flounder. That is no longer true. Even when the season is open, anglers have to catch 30 – 40 summer flounder fish to have one to take home to eat because of unnecessary large size limits. This drives them to direct their attention to other species like striped bass. This is what happens where you do single species management. Every change in one species has a consequence on another. This is one of the reasons why I will not support unnecessary changes unless the stock assessment proves the changes are necessary and considers the impact on other species and on the industries that depend on them. We need to consider the economic impact in every decision.
Since I wrote the articles below the only thing that has changed is that there are now 50 co-sponsors in the Assembly for the Pots Off the Reef Bills, A1152/S221. We need to keep the pressure on since we want this passed in the Lame Duck Session. I just updated these Pots Off the Reef Articles.
Further Complications for the Artificial Reef Bill
The status of the artificial reef program is the commercial pots are still on the reefs. The New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife cannot use Wallop-Breaux funding because the commercial pots deny recreational access to the reefs. The legislation to remove the pots has passed the Senate and is being held up in the Assembly. Assemblyman Albano invited the RFA, Garden State Seafood and NJOA to a meeting in Trenton to find a compromise that will allow the Division of Fish and Wildlife to fund the artificial reef program while still allowing fish pots on the artificial reefs. JCAA sees this as another delaying tactic. We have always been clear that the only way to resolve the issue and make any legislation enforceable is to totally remove the pots from the artificial reefs. That is the only position that JCAA, the NJOA, Reef Rescue and NJ State Federation of Sportsmens Club and our member organizations have ever taken. For 6 years other interests have been looking for a compromise that would allow the pots to continue on the reefs. We have been steadfast in our refusal to consider any compromise that does not totally remove the pots from the artificial reefs. This is what our members have voted on and I don’t imagine their vote will ever change. Assemblyman Albano understands how to satisfy the US Fish and Wildlife Service and return the use of Wallop-Breaux money. All he needs to do is to move the existing legislation that has already passed the Senate to the Assembly for a vote. As of October 16, this legislation is co-sponsored by 50 of members of the Assembly, both Democrats and Republicans. He and Speaker Oliver need to listen to the 50 co-sponsors and get this bill to the Assembly floor for a vote. You need to contact Assemblyman Albano and Speaker Oliver immediately. See the information below in the NJOA report listing the co-sponsors and telling you how to contact them through NJOA web page.. You need to contact the Assembly members who are not co-sponsors. Again, see below.
Please contact Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver to get this bill moving. Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver has the power to tell Assemblyman Nelson Albano to post the bill in the Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee for a vote. Please contact her and let her know that you want her to tell Assemblyman Nelson Albano to post this bill for a vote in his committee or move the bill to another committee. Then we want Speaker Oliver to post it for a full vote in the Assembly. Tell her that the Senate has shown the way and we will be judging the Assembly on its action on this bill. This bill contains no compromise and should not be amended. There are currently 50 co-sponsors for the present bill in the Assembly. Below is a letter that JCAA is sending to Speaker Oliver and all New Jersey Assemblymen/women. It is crucial that you write Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver and your own Assemblymen and women immediately. All Assemblymen and women need to hear from everyone. Please use the letter below to Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver and the cover letter to your assemblymen/women as a guide in creating your own letter.
To find the appropriate addresses, go to www.njleg.state.nj.us. You can find the names and addresses of your legislators. You can also check their votes on important legislation. JCAA, Reef Rescue and other member organizations will keep you posted. For more information go to Pots off the Reefs at www.njreefrescue.com or at the JCAA newspaper archives.
Letter to Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver
JCAA is writing to request your support for Assembly Bill A1152/S221 which prohibits the use of traps on artificial reefs. You need to tell Assemblyman Nelson Albano to post this bill for a vote in his committee so you can post it for a full vote in the Assembly. This bill was passed by the full Senate on Monday, March 21st by a vote of 31 yes and 4 no. Now is the time for the Assembly to pass this legislation. JCAA wants this legislation passed before you leave for summer recess. JCAA and the fishing clubs throughout New Jersey will be watching your actions on this matter and we will be judging you and the Assembly on its action or inaction. Our members and 800,000 New Jersey anglers are in support of this issue. Your action will matter to us in the upcoming election.
New Jersey’s artificial reef system is one of the nation’s most successful reef building programs. Though it occupied just 0.3 percent of the sea floor off New Jersey’s coast, a 2000 study by the state’s Division of Fish and Wildlife revealed that 20 percent of New Jersey’s recreationally landed fish come from the state’s 15 reefs. As more and more severe fisheries restrictions are placed on the more than 800,000 New Jersey anglers and the more than 500,000 out-of-state anglers who fish New Jersey’s waters, the reef sites have become even more important to the state’s recreational anglers. In the case of summer flounder, aka fluke, the reefs are the best opportunity for most recreational anglers who target fluke to catch one that meets the new minimum size of 18 inches.
This fishing effort provides a tremendous trickle-down economic effect in both shore and inland communities, as these anglers support marinas, boat liveries, bait and tackle stores, fuel stations, restaurants, convenience stores, sporting goods stores, toll highways, hotels/motels, real estate rentals, etc. These considerations add $4 billion to New Jersey’s economy, $150,000 in sales taxes, and provide for 37,000 jobs.
At issue here is the very legality of the use of traps on the artificial reef sites. According to the state-approved 2005 Artificial Reef Plan, the intent of the reef sites is for “hook-and-line” angling activities. Continuing to allow fixed gear on the reefs is in complete disregard for this Department of Environmental Protection-approved measure.
Furthermore, the continuingly increasing use of fixed gear for commercial fishing purposes on New Jersey’s reef system may directly violate federal law. For more than 20 years, the administration of the reef program has been funded by Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish (Wallop-Breaux) Restoration Funds. These funds are derived from an excise tax on recreational fishing purchases, and as a “user pay, user benefit” program, federal law requires that these funds be used to benefit recreational fisheries. Under 50 CRF 80.14 and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Federal Assistance Toolkit, Part 521, Section 2.9 lists ineligible activities for the use of these funds, with paragraph C specifically disallowing their use for “Providing services or property of material value to individuals or groups for commercial purposes or to benefit such individuals or groups.” Violation of these rules is subject to repayment of funds.
The majority of states that have artificial reef programs, including New York, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, have identified traps as incompatible with their reef programs and no longer allow traps on their reefs. Furthermore, this action has been supported federally by classifying reefs in federal waters for a number of those states as Special Management Zones (SMZs), restricting the use of traps on those sites.
The issues are clear and the precedent has been set: Traps are not compatible with the purpose or the laws governing New Jersey’s artificial reefs. JCAA looks forward to your support in enforcing this mandate and voting for Bill S221and A1152. If you have any questions, please contact our legislative chairman, Tom Fote, at 732-270-9102 or tfote@jcaa.org.
Letter to your Assemblyman/woman
We are asking for your support for A1152. The attached letter to Assembly Speaker Oliver states the reasons this bill is crucial to the recreational fishing community. We are asking you to let Speaker Oliver know that you support this legislation and want it voted on in the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee and then posted for a vote by the entire Assembly. We are asking you to also contact Assemblyman Albano, Chairman of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee to request his immediate action to post this bill. Jersey Coast Anglers Association, our member clubs and the 800,000 recreational anglers want this legislation passed before the summer recess. Since the Senate has passed this bill in three sessions and the Assembly has refused to post this bill for a vote, we clearly know that the problem is in the Assembly. We will be watching and hold you accountable for your action or inaction.
Artificial Reefs Part 2: The Governor and DEP
At this time, we need for Governor Christie to become involved in the artificial reef program. During the campaign, the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance hosted a meeting with candidate Christie. At that time we asked for his support for removing the pots from the artificial reefs. He made a commitment to us to resolve this issue and protect the funding for the reefs. Governor Christie will either sign the legislation if it ever reaches his desk or he has the power to create an executive order that will remove the pots. There are a block of regulations that were developed by DEP in 2007. None of these regulations have been implemented. The Governor could finally request the implementation of all of these regulations including the ones that would get the pots off the reefs. The former Governor and Commissioner supported removing the pots. It is now up to Governor Christie and Commissioner Martin to make their commitment a reality. The Governor has options. We don’t care which option he chooses as long as the pots are removed from the reefs. We have the most powerful Governor in the nation. Time for action! Governor Christie does not need to wait for the Assembly. Please contact the Governor’s Office and ask for his immediate action to remove the pots off the reefs and insure the Wallop-Breaux funding will be available for the artificial reefs.
Last month I discussed my disappointment at grants funded by Walmart, PEW, Dodge and other foundations. Some of these grants focus on restricting the ability of fishermen to fish but never get to the underlying problems. They punish the people who are sometimes the least cause of the problem and ignore the factors that have the greater impact. When we look at the source of funding that provided their original money, we sometimes see that the big polluters are where the big funders got their money. I looked at Walmart’s quote, "Within the Marine Conservation initiative the foundation also works to create economic incentives for ocean conservation. The foundation supports projects that reverse the incentives to fish unsustainably that exist in "open access fisheries" by creating catch share programs. In addition, the foundation's grantees work with major seafood buyers to encourage improvements in fisheries sustainability through partnerships with fishermen and by encouraging fisheries to apply for certification by the Marine Stewardship Council." It truly disappoints me that they never mention the recreational anglers who spend their money at Walmart, buying more than just tackle. The quality of life issue is completely ignored by any of these foundations. Recreational fishing is part of the outdoor experience. Families take their children camping, boating, fishing, hiking or just enjoying nature. In a time when our children are more sedentary and we worry about their tech time, getting families into the outdoors should be a priority. I fell in love with the outdoors through fishing and that has driven many of my decisions to become involved with fisheries management and environmental issues. There will not be another generation of children interested in being stewards of the environment if they never spend any time outdoors.
With the extreme cutbacks that the states and the federal government are making in money spent on parks, fisheries research and personnel, it is even more crucial that the foundations spend their money wisely in support of building this new generation of children who love the outdoors. They also need to fund the research that government at all levels is failing to do. We need proper stock assessments and basic science to manage stocks appropriately, not just cut or close fisheries.
Another area for funding is research into the impact of endocrine disruptors. There is money available for climate change because that is in the public eye. We see the evidence in storms and a rise in sea levels. But endocrine disruptors are already quietly having a huge negative impact on all species, not just fish. Because this issue is receiving less attention, it is a less glamorous, headline grabbing thing to fund. But the long-term impact can be even more damaging.
The people who write grants are sophisticated enough to know where the money is and to target their grant writing to the current hot topic. Personally, I have seen scientists tailor their proposals to what they think will sell rather than what they know is important. In the academic world funding is big business. Tenure and salaries are tied to getting and keeping grant money.
Let me restate their point. The foundations need a larger vision. They need to stop grabbing attention and headlines by funding the “latest thing” or the “image builder” and look at the bigger picture and fund for the long term.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will meet in Boston November 6 – 10. The agenda is below. The agenda is full and many important subjects are included. You can periodically check the ASMFC webpage since the agenda may change. The fisheries management plans that will be up for discussion can be found under “Breaking News”. If you read these documents and send your commissioners your comments, you can be represented at the meeting. You must read the plans first and comment directly on the proposals that are under consideration. Sometimes I get emails from people who have not done their homework. While their comments may be valid and I am pleased they have taken the time to contact me, we can only work with the plans that are listed for consideration at a specific meeting. It is important that your comments focus directly and specifically on the options listed in the plans.
ASMFC 70th Annual Meeting
Preliminary Agenda for the Commission's 70th Annual Meeting
Boston, Massachusetts November 6-10, 2011
The preliminary agenda is subject to change. The agenda reflects the current estimate of time required for scheduled Board meetings. The Commission may adjust this agenda in accordance with the actual duration of Board meetings. Interested parties should anticipate Boards starting earlier or later than indicated herein.
The agenda may also be viewed at this link.
