STRIPED BASS POSITION DEVELOPED BY JCAA COMMITTEE
(from Jersey Coast Anglers Association February 1995 Newsletter)
An expanded committee of 15 interested members represented 11 member clubs held a meeting of the JCAA striped bass committee on February 17 at the JCAA office in Toms River.
After two hours of discussion, on many aspects of the proposed changes contained in Amendment 5 to the Striped Bass Management Plan, The Committee voted on the following position.
• The JCAA is in favor of allowing a commercial harvest in 1995 that will be no more than 40% of the harvest made in the base years of 1972-79.
• The JCAA will agree to a recreational minimum size limit, on the coast, of 28 inches, but only with a bag limit of two fish per day for 300 days in 1995.
• If only one fish per day is allowed, then the minimum size limit must be lowered to 24 inches for 300 days in 1995.
• There was no recommendation by the committee for sizes and bag limits for Delaware Bay, Raritan Bay and the Hudson River because of the faulty information contained in Table 4 of the Amendment. The options allowed under this faulty table were not acceptable to the Committee.
The minimum sizes and daily bag limits contained in the above position represent a conservative approach, if the commercial harvest is kept at 40 % of the catch in the base years. This would allow the recreational harvest to be on an equitable level with the commercial harvest.
If these demands are not accepted, it will become obvious that not the ASMFC does not really feel that the stocks are fully restored and able to supply an equitable distribution of fish to both user groups. This also will prove that the proposed increase in commercial allocation is being done in spite of any real science and only to satisfy the greed of the commercial sector.