Mass regulatory changes in Mass could lead New Jersey to wonder if perhaps they’re next.
On March 27, the Massachusetts Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (MFAC) implemented new size and bag restrictions for false albacore and Atlantic bonito, while virtually shutting down the entire Massachusetts coast to shark fishing from shore.
In a 5-2 vote (with one abstention), MFAC approved a Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries recommendation to adopt a 16-inch fork length minimum size for both false albacore and bonito, coupled with a five-fish per person possession limit (both species combined). According to The Fisherman’s New England edition editor Dave Anderson, the decision was based on a precautionary management approach for these species given the lack of a stock assessment to inform coastwide fishery management and the growing economic and social importance of the recreational fishery for these species.
The minimum size represents the estimated size at maturity for both species. The exemptions accommodate historic commercial fishing activities where these species may be incidentally caught, and the realities of the fishing activities make it unduly cumbersome to actively sort and discard live bycatch.
MFAC also approved by a 6-1 vote (with one abstention) what essentially amounts to prohibition of shore-based shark fishing in the Massachusetts surf. As per the MFAC vote, fishing for sharks “using a metal or wire leader measuring greater than 18 inches and a hook for which the maximum distance measured between the two points inside the curve created by the hook exceeds 5/8-inch when measured straight across from the point to the shank” is being prohibited along Cape Cod Bay beginning at the northern-most point of Plymouth Beach around the Outer Cape including Chatham Harbor and all of Monomoy Island. The new surf shark restriction also prohibit chumming when shore-based shark fishing throughout the Commonwealth from sunrise to sunset; and prohibit the use of mechanized and remote controlled devices to deploy baits when fishing with rod and reel gear.
“The primary purpose of these rules is to constrain the growth of shore-based shark fishing in Massachusetts that targets white sharks, thereby preventing significant public safety concerns,” Anderson noted in the May edition of The Fisherman, adding “By applying the mechanized and remote-controlled device rule more broadly to rod and reel fishery there is an ancillary benefit of limiting the expansion of the gear into other fisheries, such as striped bass, where its application could result in longer fight times and increased post-release mortality.”
At previous meetings of the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council, the top of surf fishing for sharks has come up for discussion, with advisors currently in the process of reviewing the topic for eventual council discussion. The next meeting of the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council will take place at 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 8 at the Galloway Twp. Branch of the Atlantic Co. Library, 306 East Jimmie Leeds Road in Galloway.
For details call 609-292-7794, or learn more at njfishandwildlife.com.
