01-13-2004, 02:55 AM
[font "Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"][size 2]New Jersey will fight new limits on striped-bass catch, official says By JARRETT RENSHAW Staff Writer, (609) 978-2015
As the dust settles from last week's meeting of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission the state is preparing to fight for its recreational fisherman.
New Jersey's striped bass bag limit of one at 28 inches or more plus a slot fish between 24 and 28 inches is in jeopardy of being tossed overboard if the state cannot convince the ASFMC that it poses no threat to the heavily protected fish.
The 15-state commission, which develops management plans for all regulated fish along the East Coast, imposed a limit of two striped bass of 28 inches or more for all its member states during a meeting last week.
Tom Fote, the governor's appointee to the ASMFC, said if the commission does not change its decision, he will urge the governor - who has yet to make a statement on the issue - to file a lawsuit against
them.
"I am recommending that Gov. McGreevey sue the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to redress our grievances about the striped-bass plan and the discriminatory nature of Amendment VI," he wrote in the Jersey Coast's Angler Association newsletter.
The next meeting of the commission will be in March, and state officials will argue once again to keep the slot fish. If they are denied again, they will be forced to change the regulations.
"I have been in discussion with several people and we are coming up with a solution that will benefit everybody I believe," Fote said.
One of the state's major arguments come March, Fote said, will be to convince the commission to recognize - which it does not do - the areas currently closed to striped-bass fishing as a form of conservation.
The new regulations are supposed to be in place by Jan. 1, but because the striped bass season does not start until the summer, the state would not be ruled out-of-compliance by the commission. If found out-of-compliance, the commission could shut the fishery down.
U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-6th, wrote a letter to the executive director of the commission voicing his disapproval of the decision and telling him that he will be keeping an eye on the situation as it unfolds.
"As a representative of a state that has some 800,000 recreational anglers, I can assure you that I will be tracking the commission's efforts in this regard, and I will take my concerns to the secretary of commerce, if necessary," he wrote.
The major argument coming from state officials following the meeting is the commission's decision to eliminate the category of producer areas from the new management plan. Producer areas are defined as areas that have large amounts of spawning, smaller fish, which in the case of New Jersey would be fish migrating from the Delaware Bay.
The producer tag has allowed New Jersey to keep the slot fish over the past few years. But since the producer tag is eliminated, the slot fish might be too.
At the same time, officials say, the commission found no fault with recreational and commercial fisherman harvesting striped bass less than 28 inches in the Chesapeake Bay, Potomac River, Albemarle Sound and the Roanoke River.
Robert Beal, director of the interstate fisheries management program, said the decision was based on the fact that those areas have very different fisheries than the other member states.
Beal said the Albemarle Sound and the Roanoke River fisheries are so different that they require a separate management plan.
Beal said the state could provide a separate management plan for the Delaware Bay area if they want to, similar to the one in Chesapeake Bay.
State officials see it a different way. They feel the move was to satisfy commercial fishermen, which saw a 42 percent increase as a result of the amendment.
The amendment also supports opening up federal waters - three miles off shore - to commercial striped-bass fishing, something that has not sat well with the state's recreational fishermen.
The commission in not expected to make a final decision on that proposal until late next year.
To e-mail Jarrett Renshaw at The Press:
JRenshaw@pressofac.com
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As the dust settles from last week's meeting of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission the state is preparing to fight for its recreational fisherman.
New Jersey's striped bass bag limit of one at 28 inches or more plus a slot fish between 24 and 28 inches is in jeopardy of being tossed overboard if the state cannot convince the ASFMC that it poses no threat to the heavily protected fish.
The 15-state commission, which develops management plans for all regulated fish along the East Coast, imposed a limit of two striped bass of 28 inches or more for all its member states during a meeting last week.
Tom Fote, the governor's appointee to the ASMFC, said if the commission does not change its decision, he will urge the governor - who has yet to make a statement on the issue - to file a lawsuit against
them.
"I am recommending that Gov. McGreevey sue the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to redress our grievances about the striped-bass plan and the discriminatory nature of Amendment VI," he wrote in the Jersey Coast's Angler Association newsletter.
The next meeting of the commission will be in March, and state officials will argue once again to keep the slot fish. If they are denied again, they will be forced to change the regulations.
"I have been in discussion with several people and we are coming up with a solution that will benefit everybody I believe," Fote said.
One of the state's major arguments come March, Fote said, will be to convince the commission to recognize - which it does not do - the areas currently closed to striped-bass fishing as a form of conservation.
The new regulations are supposed to be in place by Jan. 1, but because the striped bass season does not start until the summer, the state would not be ruled out-of-compliance by the commission. If found out-of-compliance, the commission could shut the fishery down.
U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-6th, wrote a letter to the executive director of the commission voicing his disapproval of the decision and telling him that he will be keeping an eye on the situation as it unfolds.
"As a representative of a state that has some 800,000 recreational anglers, I can assure you that I will be tracking the commission's efforts in this regard, and I will take my concerns to the secretary of commerce, if necessary," he wrote.
The major argument coming from state officials following the meeting is the commission's decision to eliminate the category of producer areas from the new management plan. Producer areas are defined as areas that have large amounts of spawning, smaller fish, which in the case of New Jersey would be fish migrating from the Delaware Bay.
The producer tag has allowed New Jersey to keep the slot fish over the past few years. But since the producer tag is eliminated, the slot fish might be too.
At the same time, officials say, the commission found no fault with recreational and commercial fisherman harvesting striped bass less than 28 inches in the Chesapeake Bay, Potomac River, Albemarle Sound and the Roanoke River.
Robert Beal, director of the interstate fisheries management program, said the decision was based on the fact that those areas have very different fisheries than the other member states.
Beal said the Albemarle Sound and the Roanoke River fisheries are so different that they require a separate management plan.
Beal said the state could provide a separate management plan for the Delaware Bay area if they want to, similar to the one in Chesapeake Bay.
State officials see it a different way. They feel the move was to satisfy commercial fishermen, which saw a 42 percent increase as a result of the amendment.
The amendment also supports opening up federal waters - three miles off shore - to commercial striped-bass fishing, something that has not sat well with the state's recreational fishermen.
The commission in not expected to make a final decision on that proposal until late next year.
To e-mail Jarrett Renshaw at The Press:
JRenshaw@pressofac.com
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