The New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council (Council) is slated to meet at 5 p.m. this Thursday, May 16th at the Stafford Township Municipal Building at 260 East Bay Avenue in Manahawkin.
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. These public meetings are typically held six times a year and provide the opportunity for saltwater anglers and recreational industry leaders to provide input on management measures.
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; currently there are two open seats at the Council yet to be filled by New Jersey governor Phil Murphy since late 2020, one “at large” public seat and the other a seat belonging to the recreational fishing community.
However, as reported in the May edition of The Fisherman Magazine, Greg Hueth of the party boat Big Mohawk was officially nominated to take over the sportfishing seat left vacant when Sergio Radossi stepped away from the Council in 2020, while Lakewood’s John Tiedemann, a professor at Monmouth University, has been tabbed for the “at large” seat to replace James Alexis who left the Council in 2019. Both nominations were sent to the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee for final consent on April 8th.
To confirm date and time of Thursday’s meeting contact the New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife’s Marine Fisheries Administration at 609-292-7794 or visit the Council page.
