Jersey Coast Anglers Association continues to fight for the New Jersey Recreational Fishermen. JCAA recently requested that the National Marine Fishery Service perform a benchmark stock assessment in 2013 for summer flounder for the Mid-Atlantic stocks in conjunction with the New England Benchmark assessment instead of waiting until 2015. The Mid-Atlantic summer flounder fishery is an extremely important resource both recreationally and commercially here in NJ. The last benchmark assessment was performed back in 2008 and JCAA thought it to be prudent to not wait until 2015 for the next assessment. Especially with the potential for strong year classes entering the biomass, it is important to keep the stock assessments up to date and continue to protect this valuable fishery. The summer flounder stock was recently declared rebuilt, is not over fished and overfishing is not occurring. JCAA wants to ensure the summer flounder stock remains rebuilt and is committed to protecting the marine resource for NJ’s anglers; that is why JCAA requested NMFS perform the stock assessment in 2013. My letter to the NJ Congressional Delegation, Senators Lautenberg and Menendez with a copy to NMFS and ASMFC and President Barack Obama and NMFS response are at the end of my President’s Report.
Our next fundraising event will be our Sportsperson of the Year Dinner which will be held on November 11th at Crystal Pt. Yacht Club in Pt. Pleasant. We are looking for nominations for this important honor. Please send a short biography of 250 words or less detailing the accomplishments of the nominee to the JCAA Office. It is not too early for your club to start planning on getting a table for this great event. All of us together can make this event a great success! Look for more information from our Sportsperson of the Year Dinner Committee in future editions of the JCAA newspaper.
All of us at JCAA would like to wish everyone a safe summer; remember to take your kids and their friends fishing because they are the future of the recreational fishing community.
Important
Letters regarding Summer Flounder Benchmark Stock Assessment
I am writing to you concerning the summer flounder (fluke) benchmark stock assessment that has been rescheduled to be performed in 2015 by the National Marine fisheries Service (NMFS). The New England region is scheduled to have many of their benchmark stock assessments performed in 2013. New Jersey and the Mid-Atlantic region fisheries are just as important to its anglers and commercial fishermen as the New England region and we should not have to wait until 2015 for this assessment to be done.
On behalf of the Jersey Coast Anglers Association, its member clubs, and the one million recreational anglers in New Jersey, I would request that you urge NMFS move the summer flounder benchmark stock assessment be done in 2013 and not 2015.
I am writing to you concerning the summer flounder (fluke) benchmark stock assessment that has been rescheduled to be performed in 2015 by the National Marine fisheries Service. The New England region is scheduled to have many of their benchmark stock assessments performed in 2013. New Jersey and the Mid-Atlantic region fisheries are just as important to its anglers and commercial fishermen as the New England region and we should not have to wait until 2015 for this assessment to be done.
On behalf of the Jersey Coast Anglers Association, its member clubs, and the one million recreational anglers in New Jersey, I would request that you urge the National Marine Fisheries Service to perform the summer flounder benchmark stock assessment in 2013 and not 2015. This is an important issue to New Jersey’s one million recreational anglers.
Thank you for your letter regarding scheduling of a benchmark stock assessment for summer flounder. Summer flounder is an important resource in mid-Atlantic and southern New England waters. The stock was recently declared rebuilt, is not overfished, and overfishing is not occurring. I am also pleased to note that there are two large incoming year-classes in the population, and that they are expected to support both commercial and recreational fisheries for the next 3 to 4 years.
The current (2011) summer founder assessment is information rich, as data from many sources inform the analyses. This stock assessment is updated annually and will be updated in July 2012 with new information on commercial and recreational landings and discards at age, survey indices, and other available biological information. These updates use the modeling framework that was peer-reviewed and accepted during the latest (2008) benchmark stock assessment. The updated assessment results are reviewed and evaluated by the Scientific and Statistical Committee of the mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. Based on this evaluation, the committee recommends an acceptable biological catch for the next fishing year.
Benchmark stock assessments are scheduled by the Northeast Regional Coordinating Council (NRCC). The Council includes representation from NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center and Northeast Regional Office, the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils, and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
The NRCC meets semi-annually to discuss stock assessment priorities for a range of species and to confirm upcoming assessment schedules. Benchmark stock assessments are normally scheduled 1 to 2 years in advance to allow for required preparations, including data acquisition and analyses, aging of accumulated samples, and development of new methods and approaches. The NRCC met on May 21-22, 2012, and decided to schedule a benchmark stock assessment for summer flounder in June 2013.
We are encouraged by the current status of the summer flounder resource and fisheries, and believe that its management is supported by sound science and timely stock assessments. I appreciate your interest in this matter.
