Fisheries Management & Legislative Report

On June 30, the New Jersey Senate had a Judiciary Committee hearing, took a vote on my replacement to ASMFC. Jeffrey Kaelin was moved from committee and approved by the full Senate on the same day. None of the groups I am involved with were notified that this would happen on the last day of the Senate session.

I need to reflect on my years representing the Governor or the Legislator from 1990 until 2023. There was a 2-year gap but otherwise my service was continuous. When I started ASMFC was a “good old boys club” and the Legislators and Governors Appointees had no vote on any board. There was no Habitat Committee. Jack Donegan took over as Executive Director in the early 90’s and I worked with him and other appointees to changing the Commission to a more open organization. The Atlantic Coast Conservation Act was introduced to change the way the Commission functioned. Jerry Schill, from the North Carolina Fishermen’s Association, Larry Simms, from the Maryland Waterman’s Association, and I made our support for this Act contingent on ASMFC making significant changes. Some of those changes were appointing Advisory Committees for every species board, increasing the role of the Governor’s and Legislative appointees, and developing a more open process. We got what we asked for. Change takes time and hard work but the appointees and many of the state directors worked together to make this happen.

When Jack Donegan became the Director, Al Goetz and I worked with him and Phil Coates to develop the Habitat Committee. I served as the original chairman until I became the Legislative Proxy but I remained a member of the committee until 2003. The original makeup of this committee was Governor’s and Legislative appointees and State Directors. Now the committee is made up of habitat people from each state and some other NGOs. This is one of the things I am proudest of from my time at ASMFC.

I have met many great people in my time at ASMFC. When I joined ASMFC I had a BA and MBA in business. By now I feel like I qualify for a PhD in fisheries. In addition, service on ASMFC has dramatically changed my life. Building consensus and working together has been both a challenge and great joy.

There are many people who helped me meet with success at ASMFC. There were two great Executive Directors, Jack Donegan and Bob Beal. But I most want to acknowledge the staff at ASMFC, Laura Leach, Cindy, Toni Kearns, Tina Berger and the staff members for the various boards. We spent so much time together we became a family. There is also a very long list of fellow commissioners that I would like to thank for their dedication and help over the years.

I would also like to acknowledge and thank Governor Florio, Governor Christine Todd Whitman, Governor McGreevey, and Governor Corzine for their faith in me, keeping me reappointed for so many years. I had opportunities to meet with them whenever I needed to discuss issues with them. Governor Christie let me serve for 8 years without ever reappointing me. I also would like to thank the DEP Commissioners who have supported me in my role, Scott Weiner, Jeanne Fox, Bob Shinn, Brad Campbell, Lisa Jackson, and Bob Martin. These DEP Commissioners all had an open-door policy with me and were willing to meet with me at any time to discuss the issues. While I will no longer be the Commissioner, my commitment to the anglers and commercial fishermen of New Jersey will not change.

I will not be attending the Summer Meeting in person. I will attend some meetings virtually with the rest of the public. Meeting details and the preliminary agenda (subject to change) can be found at this link.

Striped Bass Board meeting is scheduled for 1:45pm on August 1st. This will be the most important meeting for any of you who care about Striped Bass. The Striped Bass Board will look at the possibility of extending the emergency action for another 180 days. They will also be working on the next addendum. I find it interesting they said they will review the public comments collected at the hearings on the emergency action. We were told that they weren’t accepting public comments so many of us did not make any. You are now given enough notice that you can plan to attend and let the Commission know how you feel. I know JCAA, NJSFSC, and NJ Outdoor Alliance will all be submitting letters to let them know what a disaster this action was. We all know this was totally unnecessary since it will do nothing to correct the problems in Chesapeake Bay. We will also let them know that we want producing-area status returned to the Hudson and Delaware Rivers. Climate change continues to have a major impact. We also must explore the possibility that some other rivers along the East Coast have become spawning areas due to the changing water temperatures. The Chesapeake Bay can no longer claim 80% of the coastal migratory stocks. This will impact on Maryland and Virginia double dipping for the trophy program as it has in the past. JCAA will make the finished letter available before the Commission meeting.

East Coast Climate Change Scenario Planning Initiative will be meeting during this week. If you want to get a better understanding about how the agencies are working together to build resilience around the issue of climate change, this is an important meeting. Remember if you cannot attend any meeting at the scheduled time, it will be posted at a later date on the ASMFC website. Make sure you are signed up for the Commission alerts.