Created by the Marine Fisheries Management and Commercial Fisheries Act of 1979 (N.J.S.A.23:2B), the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council (Council) is one of several councils and committees involved in managing New Jersey’s fish and wildlife resources. The Council advises the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on various issues and management programs related to marine fishery resources.
By statute, the Council should have 11 members made up of recreational and commercial fishermen, fish processors, the general public and the Atlantic Coast and Delaware Bay sections of the Shellfisheries Council. At least six members of the Council must be present to constitute a quorum, an issue for the past year and half due to being short four members, one representative from the sportfish community, one processor, one commercial and one member of the public.
Quorums and functional Council meetings should get a little easier for now on given that the governor of New Jersey – with the advice and consent of the New Jersey Senate via the senate president – have appointed two new members of the Council, one each for sportfish and commercial.
Dr. Patrick Donnelly was recently added to the Council as a sportfish representative. A previous JCAA Sportsperson of the Year Award winner, the Brielle dentist and saltwater angler makes his return to the Council where as a previous member he chaired the council’s Black Sea Bass, Tautog and Reef Committees. Donnelly, who resides in Northern Ocean County, joins South Jersey members and captains Richard Herb and Robert Rush, along with North Jersey angler Sergio Radossi as the three members of the sportfish crew, marking a diverse lineup of the recreational community at large in the Garden State.
Also appointed to the Council was Kevin Wark, a commercial fisherman out of Barnegat Light. In addition to being owner/operator of the fishing vessel Endeavor, Capt. Wark is also liaison between wind energy interests and local fishing community, and is also an industry advisor to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. Reappointed to another term at the Council was Capt. Joe Rizzo, who in addition to holding a commercial seat on the Council also runs Barnegat Bay Fishing Charters out of Waretown.
Rounding out the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council members are Dr. Eleanor Ann Bochenek (Public), Warren Hollinger (Del. Bay Shellfish Council), and John J. Maxwell (Atl. Coast Shellfish Council), just 9 of the 11 total members required by state law. Still missing from the Council is one member of the public, and one commercial processor seat.
A volunteer group, the Council is responsible for advising the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on various issues and management programs related to marine fishery resources. The Marine Fisheries Council meets bi-monthly, usually on the first or second Thursday of the month.
The next meeting of the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council is slated for 5 p.m. on September 10 at the Stafford Twp. Municipal Building at 260 East Bay Avenue in Manahawkin. After failing to reach a quorum in February and cancelling the March meeting, both the May and July meetings of Council were done via webinar.
For more information on the September 10 meeting, call the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Marine Fisheries Administration at 609-292-7794 or go to www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/mcnclmtg.htm.
