I used a heckuva lot of space here over the past 8 years railing against the Murphy administration for lack of attention to missing fisheries seats at councils and commissions. And thus far I’ve waited rather patiently for Gov. Mikie Sherrill to settle into her new position before starting the timer on missing seats under her watch; the governor’s six-month anniversary on July 20 seems as good a time as any to punch the clock.
Every governor along the Atlantic Coast gets to appoint his – or in the case of New Jersey, her representative at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). However, when that deliberative body sits down to meet this week from August 3-6 for their annual summer meeting in Arlington, VA, the New Jersey governor’s appointee seat will be vacant.
Commercial fishing liaison Jeff Kaelin became the new appointee in 2023 after former Gov. Phil Murphy sacked recreational fishing advocate Tom Fote. Kaelin, however, moved out of state last fall, leaving his ASMFC position vacant, along with an open seat on the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council. So what’s the hold up? Well, in terms of the ASMFC position, it’s not exactly “lack of attention” on the part of Gov. Sherrill; this time, it’s seems to be a delay in the Senate. With that being said, I’ll leave it up to you to decide who’s actually to blame, and where the criticism should be levied.
The governor’s appointment office did put forth a name for appointment consideration by New Jersey’s Senate Judiciary Committee, that being Scot Mackey of Cherry Hill. A commercial fishing lobbyist and executive director of the Garden State Seafood Association (gardenstateseafood.org), Mackey’s name was officially received and referred to the Senate Judiciary for consideration on May 11, 2026, but the committee has not yet deliberated over his appointment.
I’ve heard this particular appointment has been “blocked” in protest by one of the Senate committee members, but that I can’t confirm. But when ASMFC holds deliberations this week regarding blackfish, winter flounder and menhaden, only two New Jersey reps will be there, likely Joe Cimino from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Marine Resources Administration, and Adam Nowalsky who is proxy for Senator Vin Gopal in the legislative seat.
Each state gets one vote on ASMFC matters, with the three state reps “caucusing” to initiate a single vote. If one wants one thing, and a second rep wants the other, the third commissioner essentially functions as the tie-breaking vote for the state. With no governor’s appointee from New Jersey this week, unless Gov. Sherrill herself shows up at the meeting, any two-way tie gets registered as a “null” vote, which is akin to not voting at all.
As you’ll read in our news briefs section this week (“ASMFC Talks Winter Flounder, Tautog & Bunker In Virginia”), the commission’s Atlantic Menhaden Management Board will meet from 2 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday to consider reducing the harvest cap in the Chesapeake Bay reduction fishery. Ultimately, this particular board will deliberate any impacts to the ocean bait fishery stemming from any changes in the Chesapeake Bay reduction fishery, while also considering 2027-2029 specifications for Atlantic menhaden
I guess the big question is this – is it good that Mackey as a representative of New Jersey’s commercial menhaden fishery isn’t at the ASMFC this week in an official capacity? Or would it have been better to have someone as knowledgeable on commercial bunker harvest as Mackey there for the deliberations? It’s really a moot point.
As for those two missing seats on the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council – one recreational and the other commercial – I have not seen any names pop up in the online list of Senate Nominations just yet. But as you know from the last 8 years, I’ll be watching, and reporting.
