On April 21, many New Jersey anglers received an email alert and survey link from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) regarding summer flounder.
If you’ve ignored the email, or simply tossed it into your electronic trash bin, there’s good reason why you should stop and think about the importance of this request – specifically the difference between two additional fluke and an inch in size limit!
This week, NJDEP is compiling information generated through the electronic survey. From May 8-11, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) will convene in Alexandria, VA for their spring meeting, at which point members will review the NJDEP appeal to the February 2, 2017 summer flounder decision. NJDEP is hoping that some of socioeconomic data compiled in this online survey to anglers can become part of the state’s defense of the appeal.
According to NJDEP, in reaching its February decision mandating a 1-inch size increase to the state’s current recreational summer flounder minimum size limit (raising it from 18 to 19 inches) and a decrease in possession limit from five fish to three, ASMFC did not adequately determine or consider the potential economic impact of the new quota on the summer flounder industry in New Jersey.
“This survey is designed to help estimate the extent of the economic impact of these recently approved summer flounder management regulations on recreational fishing,” noted NJDEP in the survey description. “Your responses about recent trends in harvest size, abundance, and throwback mortality will help inform future decisions that promote conservation while minimizing adverse economic impacts.”
Interested New Jersey anglers are encouraged to complete the survey as thoroughly and accurately as possible before the end of the day Tuesday to give NJDEP time to compile information towards the upcoming appeal presentation. The survey should only take about 15 minutes to complete, and participation in the survey is voluntary (your identity throughout remains anonymous and answers will be kept confidential.)
Take the NJDEP summer flounder survey by Wednesday, April 26, 2017
SEA BASS UPDATE
Seasonal fluke regulations are typically set in stone by this time each year and approved by the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council. At their April 13 meeting, that management body did approve 2017 black sea bass regulations. According to Dan Radel of the Asbury Park Press the season’s first wave opens May 26 and extends through June 18 with a 10 fish bag limit at 12-1/2-inch size limit. A second wave opens July 1 through August 31 with a two fish bag and 12-1/2-inch size limit. Like last year, black sea bass reopens for the final fall wave from October 22 to December 31 with a 15 fish bag limit, but this season the size limit drops to a 12-1/2-inch size limit.
Radel said NJDEP Commissioner Bob Martin still has to sign off on the decision before the new black sea bass regulations are in place, which could happen as early as this week. As for the state of the 2017 summer flounder season, New Jersey’s appeal to ASMFC and transition of power at the White House has put the process in rather uncharted waters.
Questions abound as to what will come of the ultimate decision, and when; it has also caused a number of email alerts from various state and federal agencies, adding to overall angler confusion.
On Wednesday, April 19, NOAA Fisheries sent an email seeking comment on proposed recreational fishery management measures for the 2017 summer flounder and scup fisheries. While there are no actual proposed changes to the porgy fishery, NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Department of Commerce are seeking public feedback on their plans to reduce the recreational landings of fluke by approximately 41% compared to 2016 landings.
What NOAA Fisheries has proposed (with public comments due May 4) is to continue the "conservation equivalency" approach, in which states develop state or regional minimum sizes, possession limits, and fishing seasons that will achieve the necessary level of conservation. As confusing as this may sound, NOAA Fisheries is also supporting recommended coastwide management measures for summer flounder, which would include a 19-inch minimum size limit, four fish bag and open season from June 1 to September 15.
If ASMFC is unable to implement the measures approved at their February meeting either due to New Jersey’s appeal or based on a technical ruling that the three at 19-inch size limit for the Connecticut, New York and New Jersey region fails to meet the 41% reduction required by NOAA Fisheries, these coastwide standards would be put into place.
According to Capt. Adam Nowalsky, a New Jersey representative to both the Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council and ASMFC, NOAA’s recommendation of “conservation equivalency” ultimately refers regulation setting to the ASMFC which then determines whether states meet the requirements of the February decision.
Additionally, states that do not comply with the final ruling will be subject to closure at the behest of the Secretary of Commerce, or a more restrictive two fish at 20-inch limit from July 1 to August 31.
MAKING YOUR COMMENTS
Sources at NOAA Fisheries said their own comment period to the proposed rule as published in the Federal Register on April 19 and the Supplemental Information Report on their website is due May 4, in time to address findings at the ASMFC hearing in Virginia by May 11.
Comments can be submitted through the e-rulemaking portal or by mailing:
John Bullard, Regional Administrator
Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office
55 Great Republic Drive
Gloucester, MA 01930
For those with questions, contact Jennifer Goebel at [email protected]
Still confused? In speaking with government officials, lobbyists and fisheries advocates alike, let’s just say we’re all sorting this out together. These are uncharted waters considering the state appeal of the February ASMFC decision coupled with the incoming Trump administration.
Expect to know more and hopefully a final verdict by May 12, one week before the expected start to the New Jersey fluke season; and as soon as anything changes, look for email alerts and homepage updates from The Fisherman Magazine.
