On behalf of the Jersey Coast Anglers Association (JCAA), I attended an October 26th meeting of the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance (NJOA), and I also chaired this meeting in the capacity of Acting NJOA - CF President. The following issues were discussed.
NJ's DEP closed a number of roadways in Wharton State Park to protect a number of environmental sensitive areas and these closures cut off easy access for hunters and anglers to their favorite spots to hunt and fish. These closures were done without the input of user groups and that sparked a lot of angry backlash toward the DEP. The NJOA has met with the DEP to help resolve this issue and the DEP is holding off its final plan to change this park until it receives more input from its users.
Artificial Reefs - Pete Grimbilas reported that he expected to see new regulations from the NJ's DEP on the two reefs in NJ's waters (Axel Carlson & Sandy Hook) to be on record by November 17th. Pete expressed the frustration that all of us have on the lengthy delay of DEP's legal staff to review these regulations. However, persistence in contacting the DEP by NJOA staff to get these regulations published paid off! Pete said our Governor signed off on them and once they are published, DEP staff will focus on obtaining Special Management Zone (SMZ) status on the 13 artificial reefs that are in federal waters that would prohibit commercial use of them. (The new artificial reef regulations were made public on November 2nd).
Concerning seismic testing, I reported that Megan Brunatti from the DEP requested that I make anglers (both recreational and commercial) aware that our state wants information concerning catch rates or other problems that they may have seen that could be possibly linked to seismic testing. If there is a movement in 2016 and beyond to start seismic testing again, our state will have this information to show that it should not be done. (An article to this effect was placed in the November edition of the JCAA newsletter)
LNG was discussed and I indicated that I would represent the NJOA and the JCAA at a public hearing at the Sheraton in Eatontown on November 4th. I read the points that I was going to raise at this hearing for their information. (My testimony is included in my LNG report in this newsletter).
The 29% reduction of our fluke quota for 2016 was raised and its negative effects that it will have on the boats that target fluke, tackle shops and all related industries. Fluke is the most sought-after fish by anglers and if anglers face severe restrictions on this fishery, then they will not go fishing for fluke and that will have a severe impact on all industries related to it.
JCAA's President, Paul Haertel, reported that even though we face this 29% cutback in 2016, it appears that we may have under fished our quota by 1 million pounds in our region with New York and Connecticut. If this statistic holds up, we may not be penalized so severely in 2016 and the regulations we have for fluke this year may be somewhat similar to what we have in 2015. Let's all hope that Paul is right!
