On April 5, the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council (Council) unanimously approved summer flounder regulations for 2018 with a May 25 to September 22 season, three fish bag and 18-inch size limit. As with in 2017, anglers fishing the Delaware Bayshore and transiting via ports below the George Redding Bridge in Wildwood (so long as gear is stowed) get three fish at 17 inches, while IBSP surfcasters get two at 16 inches.
Back bay anglers and businesses that cater to those who mostly fish inside from Great Bay through Grassy Sound had encouraged Council members to allow for an earlier start date. By my count there were eight people who spoke in support of a few extra days of May fishing; another 15 different individuals or groups supported adding the days to the end of the season to help close the gap between the September fluke closure and the anticipated start of black sea bass in October. Siding with that roughly 2 to 1 majority, Council approved the May 25 to September 22 option; while I certainly understand the rationale, it’s the first time I can remember that additional fishing days (in this case 17 days) were not spread out across both the start and end of the previous season.
Following two hours of often heated fluke debate in an uncomfortably cramped community center, the Council tackled black sea bass in relatively short order. After quickly polling the 90 or so attendees, Council approved a sea bass season of May 15-June 22 (10 fish at 12-1/2 inches), July-August 31 (2 fish at 12-1/2 inches), October 8-October 31 (10 fish at 12-1/2 inches) and November 1-December 31 (15 fish at 13 inches). However, there’s a hitch. An official appeal by Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York over disparity in sea bass regulations between the northern region and the southern states from New Jersey to North Carolina was validated by a panel convened by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). That petition will be now heard by the ASFMC policy board on May 3, which could impact regulations approved by the Council. If the protest moves forward, New Jersey (and Delaware too) may be forced to give up sea bass quota, meaning regulations approved on April 5 will have to be revisited. If the appeal fails, some New York legislators are already pushing the state to go out of compliance.
In 2017, New Jersey took exception to regional fluke regulations keeping anglers in lockstep with New York and Connecticut and which would’ve led to the Garden State’s first ever 19-inch fluke limit. Unlike this year’s sea bass protest, New Jersey’s fluke appeal was denied by ASMFC at the start. In response, state officials went directly to NOAA Fisheries and the Department of Commerce to present data showing how a 19-inch size limit would’ve resulted in discard mortality rates exceeding actual harvest. Ultimately, the federal government allowed New Jersey to stick with its 18-inch size limit, but only by giving up three weeks of season (roughly the same number of days added this season) with a May 25 to September 5 season.
States are allowed differing regulations for fluke under something called coastwide equivalency; black sea bass doesn’t have that contingency built into the management plan. So, unlike the fluke situation where New Jersey would’ve been solely liable if found officially “out of compliance” (which of course didn’t happen), if New York or any other northern state is found “out of compliance” on sea bass by the Commerce Department, every coastal state will be hit with the same, punitive “backstop measure” of a five fish bag, 14-inch size and May 15 to September 15 season for sea bass.
Stay tuned as this mess unravels further at the ASMFC meeting in Virginia. Subscribers will learn more in one of the next few weekly editions; otherwise, check with TheFisherman.com for late-breaking news & information.
