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Like most anglers, at the beginning of February I was planning my fishing season. I thought because of the warm winter that I should book a number of trips in April and May. I called my fishing buddies and they agreed. We booked five charters for April with Captain Fletcher Chayes and another seven for May and early June. I was also planning my fisheries meetings for the spring. I had a Joint MAFMC meeting scheduled for April in New Jersey, a MAFAC meeting in Puerto Rico at the end of April, the ASMFC spring meeting week in Washington, DC in May. In June there was the Joint ASMFC&MAFMC meeting in Virginia Beach. My calendar was full with trips and meetings. Then came COVID-19 and the world changed. Social distancing required more and more cancellations. Although I know this is crucial, it is still disappointing. Meetings were rescheduled to online and we all had to adjust. For JCAA, we started doing Zoom Board and General meetings. ASMFC is using another online system and the Councils are using a third. Like all of you, I am learning a lot. As the strictness of the social distancing increased, I realized I was not going to do any trips in April. It was a hard call for me to make to Fletcher cancelling all of these dates. I realized that I was not just losing my fishing trips, but he was losing his income and the financial burden this would cause. I began thinking and talking about the impacts on the entire recreational and commercial fishing industries this would cause. Tackle stores were closed. I understand four of the stores that closed are not planning on reopening. I suspect that many more tackle stores that were already struggling will go under. The same is true for party and charter boats. It is really depressing to see the industry I have worked so hard for in so much difficulty. We are not thought of as an essential service. Since commercial fishermen were considered essential, they could sail but there was no market for their fresh fish. When it comes to dealing with financial help, the fishing industries are always shortchanged. Just look at what happened after Sandy with the small amount of money we received for both fishing industries.
All of our lives have changed dramatically whether we fish or not. Our opportunities to socialize with family and friends have become limited. As I am writing this, I have no idea when we will be safely able to give a friend a hug, not just fish on the same boat. In New Jersey the party and charter boats are shut down. Private boats have a whole new set of rules that make it almost impossible to find a crew. The beaches are closed so there is no surf fishing. The question then is, what needs to be done to save this industry?
Where we are as of April 18, 2020
As of April 18, the state government has shut down all state and county parks, the local municipalities have closed the beaches and boardwalks, the party and charter boats are listed as non-essential in New Jersey so they cannot fish, tackle stores are closed but they can do curbside for bait. I am not sure what the rules are for marinas, but I do see some people working on boats. With the beach closures, there is no surf fishing. There is freshwater fishing if you can find a spot where the parking lots are not closed and you can get to the lake or stream that is not in a park. As I write this, I have no idea how long these rules will be in place. The Governor has extended the shutdown to May 15 with the option to set new rules then or continue the shutdown. I was on an advisor’s call for the MAFMC and a party boat captain shared these words of wisdom. I paraphrase his remarks, “Even when we open the fishery it will never be enough for me to recoup my losses. Just because someone says it is safe, that doesn’t mean that my customers will feel safe returning.” He feels it will take five years to get back to “normal” business. That struck home because I am thinking about all the concerts and plays my wife and I had planned to attend. How long before we feel safe sitting in a theater? There should be some grant and stimulus money but no one has really seen it yet and trying to apply is almost impossible. The fishing industry is paying rent, taxes, insurance, slip space and all the additional expenses whether or not there are any customers or fishing. They are not making any money. Both industries have been holding on by a thread since the economic crisis of 2007. Boat registrations from 2007 to 2014 decreased by 50,000. Over 60 party and charter boats have gone out of business or left New Jersey by 2018. We know more went out in 2019 and we anticipate more losses in 2020. We all know the steady stream of tackle stores and related businesses were continuing to close before the current crisis. The number of fishing trips have continued to decrease. In 2019 we were down 24% from the previous year which builds on a decrease in most recent years. How long can the industry survive?
What should ASMFC, NEFMC, MAFMC, SAFMC, NOAA, NMFS, the Federal Government and the State Governments do to stop the disastrous impact on the recreational and commercial fishing communities?
In these five points, I will talk about both the commercial and recreational fisheries since both have suffered extreme hardship due to the virus.
1. Federal Government
The Federal Government is passing bills for a stimulus package to help people get through the economic crisis created by this virus. The first bill appropriated $300,000,000 for the fishing industry. The fishing industry commercially is worth about 65 billion dollars per year and the recreational numbers are about 64 billion. In total the recreational and commercial industries are worth almost $130,000,000,000. Recreational fishing in New Jersey alone is worth about 1.3 billion dollars. With the addition of the commercial and boat building industries, our total worth is about 4 billion dollars to the State of New Jersey. The sales tax numbers alone feed the state’s coffers. Three hundred million dollars for the entire United States is a drop in the bucket. For the impact of Sandy in New Jersey there was 3 million to be shared with the commercial and recreational industries. That was like giving us a fishing bobber instead of a life vest when the boat overturned. It was nice but not nearly enough and we will still drown. At the same time, New England got 50 million in emergency funds. We cannot let that happen again. The Federal Government must also take responsibility for allowing NOAA and NMFS to manage by lawsuits instead of using good science. If this pandemic has taught us anything, it is that good science is essential. The President and Congress need to appropriate sufficient funds to NOAA and NMFS to get reliable science for the fishing industry, especially when it comes to stock assessment and recreational statistics. Just passing legislation without the money to implement does nothing to solve the problem.
2. State Government
State government needs to demand that the Federal Government allocate sufficient funding for the recreational and commercial industries to recover. In New Jersey it is a quality of life issue that goes beyond the commercial and recreational industries. Restaurants, fish stores and many other businesses depend on the catch of our commercial fishermen to attract customers. It is a struggle for them to keep ahead of the game because of fixed costs and cheaper product coming from overseas. As we found out during this crisis, we need to count on our commercial fishing industry to put food on our tables and fresh fish in our restaurants. Recreational fishing is one of the reasons people live in New Jersey or travel here from other states. We have 800,000 recreational anglers in New Jersey and, on an average year, 500,000 visitors to fish. Not only is it economic but also a quality of life issue. Why would I not want to move from New Jersey? I feel we have some of the best and most diverse fishing on the east coast. We need to maintain the infrastructure to keep our tourism industry and provide for the enjoyment of our citizens.
3. ASMFC
The ASMFC will be holding its meetings by webinars for the foreseeable future. Doing a webinar meeting is much different than being there in person. In person, there are lots of opportunities for interaction beyond the actual meeting. If everyone is in the room, even if they are waiting for the next meeting, it is possible to be flexible with the schedule. If Commissioners and other interested people are joining from home based on the published schedule, a meeting could begin early and be done before we ever join the call. Again, this is a whole new way of doing business and we will need to stick to the schedule that is published, especially when meetings finish early. Not all Commissioners are interested in every board meeting and may just be joining for a specific meeting. If there is a lag time, there is much to discuss about how we deal with impacts of the virus.
ASMFC has more flexibility than the Councils due to the Magnusson/Stevens Act. On the species we regulate by ourselves, we can change the regulations for the fall. After Sandy I said there was no way we would exceed any quotas in 2013. Of course, with the horrible statistical system we have, the numbers showed we exceeded our quotas even though that made no sense at all with everything almost shut down because of Sandy. I will repeat myself and say there is no way we will exceed any quota for 2020. States that are shut down should be allowed to recoup some of the lost fishing effort of the spring by adjusting the fall fishing seasons. This is more complicated with species we jointly manage with the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council. ASMFC should demand that we do emergency actions with the species we jointly manage. We should be looking at these regulations for both the commercial and recreational industries. The mission statement for ASMFC is that they must promote sustainable fisheries, not destroy the fishing industry.
4. NOAA & NMFS
NOAA and NMFS need to start looking outside the box. There is always an excuse that the rules make it impossible to expedite any changes. The standard line is it will take 2 – 3 years to make any change. The fishing industry cannot wait 2 – 3 years. In the last 55 years of fishing, I have never seen anything like this. World War II created its own set of problems for my dad’s generation. There was no recreational fishing beyond trying to get something to put on a plate. Most of the men were in the service and commercial fishing served the war effort. We need to approach this crisis with the same level of urgency and flexibility. We are not going back to “normal” and the industry needs the help NOAA and NMFS to make that adjustment. I am not asking to throw out the management plans at this time and do away with quotas. What I am asking for is an adjustment in those plans to reflect the reality in which we are living. For example, if no one is fishing in the spring, we should adjust the regulations to allow an expanded fishery in the fall. They should also work with Congress to get the appropriations we need with a fair and equitable distribution of funds for the fisheries. I am tired of hearing we are managing in this way so we don’t get sued. Put your lawyers to work and fight for the industry. Listen to your advisors, the Commissioners to ASMFC and the Council members and help us find a way to support the industry. I do not want to hear “my way or the highway” which is frequently what we get.
5. The Federal Fisheries Councils all around the US
With their meetings, the Councils and the Commissions need to stick to the times set up for the agenda. I am not sure how long we will be doing webinar meetings, but this creates its own problems. I was trying to attend a meeting on black sea bass on the webinar only to discover that they finished the whole day before this meeting was actually scheduled. When people are not in the room, meetings cannot be rescheduled on a whim. This is especially true when ASMFC & MAFMC do joint meetings since not every Commissioner is on every board and may just be attending for a specific board meeting.
Council members need to step up to the plate and instead of just accepting the rules from NMFS, they must force NMFS to be more flexible in this time of crisis. NMFS says its goal is to create sustainable fisheries. Its goal should not be to collapse the recreational and commercial industries during a crisis. The Council members need to push NMFS to use emergency action to reflect what is actually happening at this time. The Commission and the Councils are going to have a hard time with stock assessments because of the cancellation of observer coverage and the cancellation of many independent fisheries surveys. There will also be a cancellation of intercepts for the recreational sector. We don’t know when any of these will be resumed but this will be a poor data year. Since we are planning for 2021, we should just go for status quo in 2021 and begin planning for 2022. This could be a perfect storm. The SSC will have little faith in any data that is collected because it will be so sparse. The regulations currently in place will more than protect the stocks until we can resolve the data collection process. We should actually consider relaxing some regulations as a part of a stimulus package for the recreational and commercial industry when the changes won’t hurt the stocks. The current regulations are so conservative that there is room for some flexibility. As an ASMFC Commissioner and a MAFAC member, I am looking forward to working with the Councils to make this happen.
6. What the recreational and commercial fishing communities need to do.
Like most of you, I am sitting at home most days at my computer. What you need to do as commercial fishermen and anglers is start calling your federal and state representatives and Governors and the Secretary of Commerce to remind them how important commercial and recreational fishing are to our economy. Explain that the fishing industry has never recovered from the economic crisis of 2008 and Hurricane Sandy.
The recreational industry has seen a steady closing of tackle stores and marinas and witnessed charter and party boats going out of business. The decline in recreational participation has steadily declined since 2008. The commercial industry has suffered similar problems. We not only want our representatives to help us through this hard-economic time but also work with us to rebuild both the commercial and recreational industry. You cannot just rely on the organizations that speak for this industry. You need to get personally involved. It is always more important to have someone who votes in their district share their feelings. All the commercial and recreational organizations are working to help us weather this disaster. But without your help we will not be successful. I will repeat what I have said thousands of times, “Get involved.” I am also adding, “Stay safe.”
JCAA has adjusted to Zoom meetings for the foreseeable future. The Councils and ASMFC will be doing the same for the immediate future. You can check out YouTube videos to learn how Zoom and k other platforms work. Don’t try to figure this out on the day of the meeting but in advance. Take it from me, a little practice is a good thing. If you have trouble, call a friend before the meeting begins. Before the upcoming JCAA Zoom meeting, let us know if you want us to run practice sessions. Let Captain Paul Eidman or George Browne know if you need help. Contact the Councils and ASMFC and ask them to do practice sessions for the public and what the rules are for public participation.
On a personal note, this is a great way to keep in touch with family and friends, especially those who live alone. Use facetime, skype or another platform to reach out. We can’t meet face to face, but we can maintain our social contacts using technology. We need to help each other get through this. Stay safe.
Due to concerns regarding the coronavirus and following the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission cancelled its in-person Spring Meeting. Instead, a number of Boards will be meeting via webinar to either (1) take required actions to allow for the fishery to be prosecuted now and into next year or (2) take non-decisional actions that allow for the continued development of draft management documents. Specifically, the Atlantic Herring and Tautog Management Boards will consider management actions. The Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program Coordinating Council will consider approval of its Funding Decision Document and request for proposals. The Atlantic Menhaden and Atlantic Striped Bass Management Boards will be informational though the Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board may provide feedback on next steps. The Bluefish and Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Boards will be meeting jointly with the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council to review public comment on two scoping/public information documents, and provide further direction on the development of the respective Draft Amendments. Unless stated otherwise by the respective Board chairs, all votes will be recorded via roll call.
The agenda can be found below, attached, and on the ASMFC website at this link .
For management boards that are anticipated to take final actions, such as the Atlantic Herring and Tautog Boards, the public and stakeholders will have the opportunity to provide brief comments on actions for which the Commission has NOT established a specific public comment period, as time allows. For all other meetings, the public should anticipate limited opportunity to provide comment via the webinar. When public comment is allowed, it will be at the discretion of the individual Board Chairs. As such, we strongly encourage members of the public to submit written comments in advance to be included in the meeting materials. Please see the following revised Public Comment Guidelines for more information about submitting public comment prior to the meeting.
For the remainder of Board actions previously scheduled to occur at the Spring Meeting, these actions have been deferred to the Summer Meeting or will be addressed via email. The types of issues that would be addressed via email include administrative items, such as FMP Reviews.
Details about the webinar and meeting process will be provided prior to the meeting.
