In January the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) delayed action on a proposal to allow the transfer of unused commercial striped bass quota from one state to another. The proposed plan had received thousands of letters in opposition from anglers, yet the plan is still alive with final action expected at ASMFC’s May 1-4 meeting in Virginia.
There are four coastal states with striped bass gamefish protection (no commercial harvest), Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut and New Jersey. I believe New Jersey is the only one which reassigns a portion of commercial quota to the recreational sector in the form of the Striped Bass Bonus Program (SBBP), although Connecticut had a similar “bonus” program with their 14,607 pounds of commercial quota that they suspended in 2020.
Folks outside of New Jersey have long railed against the SBBP. About 15 years ago I wrote a letter to another fishing magazine responding to an editorial that disparaged New Jersey and the SBBP; rather than printing my letter as written, the magazine editor at the time invited a New York rabble-rouser to rebut my statements. A key point of my letter was that by transferring a portion of New Jersey’s unused commercial quota to the recreational sector it kept those 215,912 pounds of striped bass free from being usurped by other states. That magazine’s editor, together with his anti-Jersey demagogue, got in the final word by attacking my position as false.
Yet earlier this year, another one of those New York tub-thumpers shared his opinions of the latest ASMFC decision by saying, quote, “New Jersey’s 215,912 pounds have been reallocated to the recreational fishery, and so removed from the potential transfer pool.” That’s right, New Jersey’s SBBP removes the unused commercial striped bass quota from the ASMFC’s potential quota transfer pool; so yes, you’re welcome meathead!
I wouldn’t expect the agitators to issue an apology, nor will they ever admit to being wrong; what I do find shocking though is that these same propagandists won’t address the 700,000-pound-plus commercial striper quota in Massachusetts and that state’s issuance of permits to anyone with a pulse who wishes to catch and sell striped bass. And yes, I believe even recreational fishermen can buy permits as well (residents pay $30, non-residents who wish to trailer their center console up to Mass pay just $60, plus the cost of a commercial “rod and reel” permit).
According to the New Jersey Bureau of Marine Fisheries (BMF) there were 11,021 bonus permits issued to saltwater anglers in New Jersey in 2022, another 155 to for-hire vessels. According to the BMF data for the year ending December 31, there were 839 fish tagged and harvested by individuals and 4,403 fish from for-hire boats, a grand total of 5,242 SBBP striped bass accounting for 33,642 pounds. That’s just 15.6% of the entire unused commercial quota.
The other 84.4%? Well, New Jersey left a swimming reserve of 182,270 pounds of striped bass in the water thanks to gamefish status. On top of that, because SBBP participants must keep daily fishing logs and return tag information from any bonus fish harvested, BMF staff gets detailed catch and effort data back which wouldn’t be available in any other form.
Striped bass is a critically important Atlantic Coast fishery, especially as true gamefish in the Garden State. Yet, in their ongoing efforts to deify striped bass, out-of-state demigods continue to assail New Jersey fishermen as heretics while speaking out of both sides of their mouths. We as anglers all share in the coastal quest to conserve striped bass for the future – as well as for the present. But at some point, it would be nice if we saw a mighty mea culpa from the out-of-state masters of the striper divinity.
At the very least, a simple “thank you New Jersey” would be nice.
Striped Bass Bonus Program (SBBP) Individual Angler Application
