The New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council (Council) is scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. on Thursday, January 4 at the Galloway Township Branch of the Atlantic County Library at 306 East Jimmie Leeds Road in Galloway.
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.
At the January 5, 2023 meeting of Council, Jeff Brust, the chief Bureau of Marine Fisheries, said an open solicitation of possible candidates to fill the empty seats produced a few applicants who warranted further review. “We’re in the process of internally deciding what recommendations we want passed to the governor,” Brust said at the Council meeting in January. In terms of timing for filling those two open positions, Brust said last year “I don’t have a firm answer for you but just an update that we are still moving forward in the process, we do have some applicants I just don’t know where we go with it from here.”
Will the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council start the New Year off with a more open and transparent DEP process? To confirm date and time of the January 4 meeting contact the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Marine Fisheries Administration at 609-292-7794
