On behalf of the JCAA, I attended a February 28th meeting of the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance (NJOA) and the following issues were discussed.
Mr. Tim Cussen, former Bureau Chief Law Enforcement Officer, attended the meeting and informed Council members of personnel changes and possible new administrative changes to the Division of Fish & Wildlife that in his opinion were not in the best interests of the Division. Council members listened to his concerns and will monitor these developments so that the Division is not hampered in its mission to protect the fish and wildlife of our state.
Separate and apart from the testimony of Mr. Cussen, concern was also raised about the reduced funding for the Division of Fish & Wildlife. The Division is getting an appropriation of $600,000 when it used to receive $1.7 million. This reduced funding will not help the Division in back-filling positions of staff that retire and it may adversely affect other operations of the Division. The NJOA agreed to issue an Action Alert advising its membership how the lack of funding negatively impacts the Division and it will also include the names of the legislators anglers should contact to lobby for increased funding for the Division. The Division should receive at minimum about $3 million for their budget. Other states along the eastern seaboard like North Carolina receive around $19 million to operate their fisheries.
The Pots off the Reef issue emerged and it generated considerable discussion among Council members. Pete Grimbilas, who has been spearheading the movement to remove the traps off the reefs, indicated that this is an election year and the legislators are campaigning to be elected. Pete advised Council members that anglers have to pressure their respective legislators to post the Pots off the Reefs bill in their respective chambers for a vote and pass it. The Senate bill is S-221 and its companion bill in the Assembly is A-1152. Pete Grimbilas has offered to visit fishing clubs to explain the issue about removing the pots off the reefs and how to go about getting your legislators to support this effort. Pete can be reached at (973) 454-0315. Also, when anglers visit the various events and club meetings they are encouraged to sign the Pots off the Reefs petitions. These petitions will be brought to meetings set up by Pete Grimbilas when he meets with various legislators, especially in District # 1 that has not been supportive of the Pots off the Reefs legislation to date.
Special Pots off the Reefs Meeting – February 26th
Pete Grimbilas, the driving force for removing Pots off the Reefs legislation, called a special meeting of interested parties with an agenda that only included a discussion on how to get the pots off the reefs. This meeting was held at the Shark Anglers Building in Herbertsville. Pete led the discussion and the meeting attendees agreed to work together to get this bill passed and signed by the Governor before the summer recess. More updates on the progress of these meetings will be forthcoming. A big thank you goes to the NJ Shark Anglers Club for hosting the meeting and providing refreshments for the attendees.
