For the first time in nearly a decade 11 appointed members of the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council (Council) met on Thursday, March 6 at the Stafford Township Firehouse in Manahawkin.
Following more than 7 years of vacancies, Greg Hueth from the Big Mohawk in Belmar took his place at the Council as one of the four “sportfish” representatives. During the late spring of 2024 Hueth was officially nominated by the governor to fill that seat left vacant when Sergio Radossi stepped away from the Council in 2020; Hueth’s appointment was finally considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 20. Also seated on the Council as “sportfish” representatives are former acting chair Dick Herb, new acting chair Pat Donnelly and Bob Rush.
Lakewood’s John Tiedemann, a former professor at Monmouth University, was confirmed by the Senate Judiciary Committee in the fall to take over the “at large” seat to replace James Alexis who left the Council in 2019, and joins former Rutgers University researcher Eleanor Ann Bochenek as the second of two “at large” seats on the Council.
The March meeting of the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council is typically when any regulatory changes to fluke or sea bass in the Garden State gets hashed out, but the 2025 season for both species remains the same as in 2024. The only regulatory update for saltwater anglers in New Jersey this season is a coastwide update to cobia, with a new 43-inch minimum size limit and two-per vessel limit in effect as of April 1.
On the enforcement side, Acting Deputy Chief Brian Scott with the Bureau of Law Enforcement at the New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife updated the Council on 2024 enforcement activities, reporting that 763 summonses were issued in 2024, over 100 of them for folks who were caught fishing in marine waters without being registered (saltwaterregistry.nj.gov). According to Scott, the Bureau of Law Enforcement has been making a more concerted effort to check on angler registrations since the registration system overhaul in 2024. The Acting Deputy Chief also said striped bass summonses were down in 2024 in the state of New Jersey, while tautog violations along the jetties have increased significantly in terms of short fish and bag violations (some of which have been egregiously high according to Scott with poachers in possession of more than 50 fish).
The next Council meeting will take place on Thursday, May 8 at 5 p.m. at the Galloway Township Branch of the Atlantic County Library, 306 E. Jimmie Leeds Road in Galloway. For more information call 609-748-4344.
