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This was the 25th anniversary of the Governor’s Surf Fishing Tournament. Two articles about the tournament are included. Those articles don’t cover the hard work that it takes to make this tournament happen, volunteers and judges in particular. When I thought about the 25th anniversary, I thought about Paul Smith. Having a Governor’s Tournament was an idea I had to prove to the Governor that recreational fishing is important to the economic health of New Jersey. Bruce Freeman, from the Division of Fish and Wildlife, and Bill Vibbert, the Superintendent of Island Beach State Park at that time, both agreed this was a great idea. We convinced the Commissioner of DEP, Scott Weiner, to go to Governor Florio with this plan. New Jersey Beach Buggy Association got involved to provide the judges and New Jersey State Federation of Sportsmens Clubs also provided support. Ideas are cheap but every great idea needs a manager. We were lucky to have Paul Smith. Paul organized all the details for the first tournament as the tournament director. He and his wife Eileen, both former presidents of JCAA, made everything run smoothly. Every detail, from designing the brochure, securing the judges, ordering the T-shirts, organizing meetings and troubleshooting on the day was overseen by Paul. He and Eileen were at the registration booth at 4:00 AM. After 13 years as tournament director, Paul handed the reins to Frank Dara but remained as treasurer with many other jobs. When JCAA, the Beach Buggy Association and the NJFSC wanted to honor someone at the 25th, there was no other choice but Paul. Paul was there at 4:00 AM for registration this year but managed to go home before the presentation. So much for our plans for a surprise! I was honored to read the plaque and Commissioner Martin was there to thank Paul as well. Not to worry, Paul will get his plaque and all of our accolades. Next year, no escape.
I attended another 4 days of ASMFC meetings the first week in May. It was interesting that there were no discussions about striped bass, scup, black sea bass and summer flounder. Those topics will be covered in the August meeting. We spent an entire day on lobsters dealing with the situation in southern New England (which includes the mid-Atlantic as well). The next day we spent on climate change. Politicians can argue about whether or not there is climate change and debate the cause but it is a fact that the water and air temperatures are changing and this is having an impact in the ocean and on the land. On the land we see plants species moving further north as the climate becomes more conducive for them. The same is true of agricultural products and the impact on the growing season. But our emphasis is on the ocean. Our first warning of the impact of climate change in New Jersey was surf clams and quahogs. Now the lobster fishery is giving us a second warning. The surf clam fishery was one of the largest commercial fisheries in New Jersey. In the more than 40 years I have fished at Island Beach State Park, I have always seen the surf clam boats. I could also see the spat for surf clams on the beach. After any northeast storm there were surf clams on the beach and many of us got clamming licenses so we could harvest them for bait. Now I do not see spat, we do not see surf clam boats working inshore, we do not see the shells on the beach after a northeast storm. Since Sandy we see hardly any clams on the beach. Surf clams have been moving deeper and further north in a search for colder water. The industry had to adjust to these conditions.
On the South Atlantic Board we discussed the problems with cobia. The South Atlantic Council has closed this fishery in federal waters during a season when it is normally most productive in North and South Carolina. Those fish are moving north and having an impact on Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and New York.
Some members of the Board have as little confidence in the stock assessment as many of us have on red snapper. The Council is not managing this stock with an understanding of their changing range. I suggested at the South Atlantic Council that we take the management of cobia and move it to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. The reason I suggested this change is that the majority of cobia are caught in state waters and under the old guidelines the ASMFC could manage cobia like it manages striped bass. ASMFC is not locked into the same bureaucracy as NMFS and the states can work more cooperatively and adjust more readily to these changing conditions. With climate change happening, many of the fish that migrate along the coast will expand their range and need to be managed by ASMFC.
The Federal Government divides the coast into 3 management councils that don’t always work well together because of competing interests. ASMFC has been in existence since 1942 and has refined the options for states working together. With the passage of the Atlantic Coast Conservation Act in the 90’s, the Commission became even more effective in managing interjurisdictional fisheries.
I just turned 69. In 20 years, when I am 89, I anticipate the fisheries along the coast with be entirely different. We need to plan for that change. I need the young anglers to get involved since they, along with their children, will need to deal with the consequences. Millennials, it is up to you.
The news is not good for the Southern New England and Mid Atlantic regions. In the 80’s we had many boats fishing for lobster, making a good living with a decent harvest. In the 90’s, when the water first began to warm, the Mid Atlantic and Southern New England saw an explosion in the lobster population. The number of boats expanded and many more were making a good living fishing for lobster. As the water warmed, the population of lobster grew due to the younger maturity. But as the temperature continued to rise, an exact opposite behavior in the lobster population became obvious. The warmer temperatures caused less recruitment. There was also an increase in the black sea bass population which is a predator of lobster. Perhaps the warmer temperatures caused the black sea bass population to rise. We also saw the Long Island Sound fishery for lobster collapse, with not only warmer waters but also significant environmental issues. The lobster fleet in Connecticut is at 25% its former size. That means a great deal of unemployment and economic hardship. The West Nile virus scare has increased the amount of spraying for mosquitoes. While that may be necessary, we should not forget the impact that will have on all fisheries, particularly lobster. We have also put electrical lines through Long Island Sound which many feel has a negative impact on the lobster population. Human needs, as usual, overrode the long-term health of the fishery. There is clearly an impact on the lobster fishery in New Jersey but it makes up a smaller percentage of commercial fishing jobs in New Jersey. In Maine, the lobster fishery is the commercial fishery and the economic impact there will be catastrophic. Right now Maine is catching more lobsters than ever, a trend for the last 10 years. This reflects the early stages of warmer water. In the last 3 years the recruitment has dropped dramatically and this should result in a significant drop in catch within the next few years. They are also seeing a stock of black sea bass moving into the Gulf of Maine and New Hampshire. We should be looking at the lobster and surf clams as the canaries in the mine. They foretell the oncoming problems.
Sometimes being Commissioner to ASMFC is frequently depressing. Weakfish is a prime example. I have not come home with good news about weakfish in over 10 years. Because of concerns about weakfish, Congressman Carper put in a bill titled the Weakfish Emergency Bill. Instead we convinced him to introduce a more generic bill which ultimately became the Atlantic Coast Conservation Act. That legislation enabled ASMFC to produce fisheries management plans to rebuild stocks with the force of law. Weakfish was one of the first species ASMFC began managing. The plan included fish excluding devices in the shrimp fishery to avoid the bycatch. We also changed the size limits so every weakfish harvested would have an opportunity to spawn at least once. We raised the size limit in some states from 6 inches to 12 inches and some states decided to raise the size limit to 16 inches. We began seeing positive results. My friends from New England began to catch 11 to 12 pound weakfish again. We saw a great increase in catch in Barnegat Bay and along the Jersey coast. According to the recreational statistics program in place in 2003, even with its flaws, we harvested 1.3 million pounds in New Jersey recreationally. For no apparent reason, the fishery began to decline. The decline continued despite figures that suggested great recruitment. But we were not seeing fishing from the 9 – 12 inch size limit. The fishery has collapsed and we do not know why. For the last few years we have had a one fish recreational limit and a 100 pound bycatch limit on the commercial fishery. Despite these draconian management measures, there has been no improvement. The SAW review on weakfish has blamed a natural mortality, not fishing pressure, but they are unable to define the causes of the natural mortality.
I actually fished last November and December on Island Beach State Park. One day I was enjoying catching 2-pound bluefish. I saw purple schools of bait and assumed it was rainfish. However, every bluefish I caught had a head or tail from their dinner. What I finally realized was the bluefish were feeding on 9-inch weakfish. No longer are weakfish the predator but have become the prey of many species. With the increase on dogfish, striped bass, bluefish and other species, we may have identified the reason the weakfish are in decline. We are harvesting a lot more of the historical prey species for our meals or for bait. Perhaps the predator species need to find another meal and that may be weakfish or even eating their own young. Maybe this is just a cycle with weakfish. But we also need to remember that perhaps we can’t manage everything. So there is, once again, no good news on the weakfish. As an optimist, I continue to hope.
Many of the decisions on menhaden are postponed until the new stock assessment is complete. There is a public hearing scheduled for July 7th in New Jersey. The meeting notice is below. Please read this carefully to know the exact content of the hearing. Nothing is proposed that would dramatically change the management of menhaden or change the quotas. Those issued will be dealt with in 2017.
Arlington, VA – In a May 9th letter to President Barack Obama, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) urged the President and the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) for transparency and a robust opportunity for public input as the Administration considers designating a National Monument through its authority under the Antiquities Act. While details on the specific location of the monument remain unknown, one potential area discussed centers around the New England offshore canyons and seamounts.
Currently, the New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is drafting an Omnibus Deep-Sea Coral Amendment which considers protection of corals in and around the canyons of the Atlantic Ocean. At the request of the Council, the Commission conducted a survey of active offshore lobstermen to understand the potential impacts to the fishery should lobster traps be limited by the Draft Amendment. Preliminary results indicate a high dependence on the offshore canyons for revenue, with over $15 million in revenue generated each year by fishermen targeting American lobster and Jonah crab in the canyons. Given that input from concerned stakeholders is a key component of the Council’s decision-making process, the Commission strongly supports using the Council process to develop measures to protect the ecosystems within these deep waters.
If the President chooses to use the Antiquities Act to protect deep sea corals, the Commission requested the designated area be limited to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected. Additionally, the Commission requested the area be limited to depths greater than approximately 900 meters and encompass any or all of the region seaward of this line out to the outer limit of the exclusive economic zone. Further, the Commission asked that only bottom tending fishing effort be prohibited in the area and all other mid water/surface fishing methods (recreational and commercial) be allowed to continue in the area.
The May 9th letter to the President follows. For more information, please contact Megan Ware, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mware@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.
Arlington, VA – The states of Rhode Island through Delaware have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on Draft Addendum I to Amendment 2 the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Menhaden. The details of those hearings follow.
The Draft Addendum proposes modifying the FMP’s bycatch allowance provision. Specifically, it considers allowing two licensed individuals to harvest up to 12,000 pounds of menhaden bycatch when working from the same vessel fishing stationary, multi-species gear - limited to one vessel trip per day. Bycatch represents less than 2% of the total coastwide landings.
The practice of two permitted fishermen working together from the same vessel to harvest Atlantic menhaden primarily occurs in the Chesapeake Bay pound net fishery. This practice enables the fishermen to pool resources for fuel and crew. However, the practice is currently constrained by the FMP’s bycatch allowance provision, which includes a 6,000 pound/vessel/day limit. The Draft Addendum seeks comment on whether the provision should be revised to accommodate the interests of fixed-gear fishermen who work together, as authorized by the states and jurisdictions in which they fish.
The intent of Draft Addendum I is to add flexibility to one element of the bycatch allowance provision while the Board prepares to address menhaden management more comprehensively through the development of Draft Amendment 3 to the FMP over the next two years. A subsequent press release on the public hearing schedule and Draft Addendum I availability will be distributed once state hearings have been scheduled.
Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addendum either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. The Draft Addendum can be obtained at this link or via the Commission’s website, www.asmfc.org, under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on July 11, 2016 and should be forwarded to Megan Ware, FMP Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at mware@asmfc.org (Subject line: Draft Addendum I).
