“So what’s the deal with New Jersey fluke and sea bass?”
On Thursday, April 7 at 5 p.m. the long-awaited answer to that question should finally arrive during the next “virtual” meeting of the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council (Council). I’m no Dr. Fauci, but with state vaccination rates up around the 90% mark, the restrictive mask mandates lifted, and daily rates of COVID cases down into negative territory as of March 1 (as per the New Jersey Department of Health), I can’t fathom why fisheries meetings continue to be run “virtually” in the Garden State.
What I am sure about is this – continuing to hold “virtual” public hearings on fisheries issues, while perhaps simplifying things for state workers who no longer have to travel to meet face-to-face with members of the public, has led to the continued erosion of the public’s trust in the management process.
Connection options for the April 7th NJ Marine Fisheries Council Meeting
If you remember back to the final “fluke” decision made by the Council in the spring of 2021, the results of an online angler survey led many to believe that regulations were going to be changed last season by shuffling days from the start of the season back to the end. However, because the GoToWebinar process precluded some members of the public from being able to weigh-in due to a number of technological snafus – and since advisors were not given the survey results prior to their meeting – Council members left 2020 limits in place for another year.
There’s no ham-handed online survey this year, and Council will again to turn to “virtual” public comment on varying options for regulating a 20% cutback in black sea bass and a 16% increase in fluke for 2022. But not allowing the public in a room with face-to-face access to engage with members of the Council or New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife (Division) is no longer necessary, and in my opinion, it’s grossly inappropriate.
Fluke Options – NJ Marine Fisheries Council Recreational Summer Flounder Committee Report
Sea Bass Options – NJ Marine Fisheries Council Recreational Black Sea Bass Advisory Committee Report
For example, what if a Division staffer was at home texting with friends during the meeting and paying little attention to the actual meeting? I’m in no way suggesting that a Division staffer was texting “out of class” comments about another meeting participant in a previous Council meeting, but it could happen within the confines of a “virtual” environment. Such petty incompetence would be nearly impossible at a physical meeting where the public is privy to any and all discussion within the confines of the room.
And then there’s the New Jersey, Pennsylvania meeting of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission back on March 14th related to Draft Amendment 7 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass. While this “virtual” hearing was directed at Pennsylvania and New Jersey anglers, I saw a handful of attendees on the chat list who don’t fish in our region but were still able to participate in the interactive onscreen survey.
Again, I’m not saying that any individuals who’ve shown continued contempt for striped bass fishermen at the Jersey Shore and a very public drive to vindictively over-regulate our fishery in the Garden State, but since a spawning area restriction would have more of an impact on Delaware River and Raritan Bay anglers than it would in say Rhode Island or Massachusetts, how exactly is their “virtual” input during a New Jersey, Pennsylvania meeting fair or relevant?
I’d love to tell you that the COVID crisis is over; I’ll leave that for the medical experts. But what should be “over” at this point is the lackadaisical approach to the public process by state bureaucrats, and the serious erosion of transparency in government that it’s caused. Sorry folks, but it’s time to get back to work for the people of this state.
On April 7th, a virtual government will hold yet another virtual hearing concerning fisheries access in New Jersey; access that’s virtually disappearing before our very real eyes.
