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IMPORTANT ATTENTION

Council to Hold Public Hearings on
Amendment 10 to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish FMP
June 9, 2008; June 17, 2008; June 18, 2008

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold hearings on Amendment 10 to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan to receive public input on management actions under consideration in Amendment 10. To reduce general discards and to allow the butterfish stock to rebuild to BMSY and protect the long-term health and stability of the rebuilt butterfish stock, the proposed management actions could:

1) Develop a butterfish mortality cap program for the Loligo fishery;
2) Increase the Loligo minimum codend mesh size;
3) Eliminate exemptions for Illex vessels from Loligo minimum codend mesh requirements; and
4) Establish seasonal gear restricted areas (GRAs).

All hearings begin at 7:00 p.m. Dates and locations of the hearings are as follows:

Monday, June 9, 2008: Sheraton Convention Center, Two Miss America Way, Atlantic City, NJ 08401
Tuesday, June 17, 2008: Hilton Garden Inn, One Thurber Street/Jefferson Blvd, Warwick, RI 02886
Wednesday, June 18, 2008: Holiday Inn Express East End, 1707 Old Country Road, Riverhead, NY 11901.

The public hearing summary document will be available at all of the public hearings and via the Internet (as of May 30) at: http://www.mafmc.org/mid-atlantic/comments/comments.htm. The document can also be obtained on request from the Council office at the address and telephone number below.

Oral comments can be provided at any of the public hearings. Written comments should be directed to Mr. Daniel T. Furlong, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Room 2115 Federal Building, 300 S. New Street, Dover, DE 19904 (telephone 302-674-2331). Written comments may also be sent via fax to 302-674-5399, or by e-mail to info@mafmc.org. Please note on your correspondence (or include in the subject line of your e-mail): "MSB Amendment 10 Comments." All forms of written comments must be received by close of business on June 23, 2008.

Artificial Reef Legislation Fails in 2007
During the last few months Garden State Seafood Association staff, with help from the fishing industry, has been communicating with New Jersey's State Legislators regarding our concerns over bill S-2635. This legislation would have eliminated historical commercial fishing on artificial reefs in States waters. On Monday January 7, 2007, the last day of the legislative session, the State Assembly chose not to vote on S-2635 marking the end of the 2007 legislative session. In our opinion the New Jersey Assembly has sent a clear message to the recreational fishing community that there needs to be room for a compromise when it comes to NJ's artificial reefs. Artificial reefs were supported and funded by both the recreational and commercial sector and so any conflict that may arise should be solved by both sectors and in an equitable manner. We hope to resolve this issue with the assistance of the Department of Environmental Protection.

Monkfish: Representatives of the Garden State Seafood Association and the Monkfish Defense Fund have been deeply involved in monkfish management for the past six years. In that time, in very large part due to their efforts, the fishery has progressed from being on the brink of a total closure to the point where it is today: not being overfished. It has taken a concerted effort on the art of the GSSA and the MDF, focused on a series of cooperative trawl surveys and working with the managers to complete a new stock assessment (in the summer of 2007) to accomplish this, but our efforts have been rewarded with an open fishery and with stocks which are now recognized to be in as good shape as the fishermen have been assuring the managers they were in initially.

Fisheries Finance Program Remains Funded
After months of hard work GSSA staff were successful at communicating the importance of the Fisheries Finance Program (FFP). The FFP is a long-term, competitive loan program managed by the NMFS and available to US commercial fishing vessel owners, shore side seafood processors, and aquaculture operations. The Traditional Loan component of the FFP, funded at $59.0M for 2008, allows commercial participants to refurbish fishing vessels and improve shore side plant facilities and to finance aquaculture operations. The program contains a statutory requirement that fishing capacity may not be increased using FFP funding.

Omnibus Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2008
Due to the efforts of NJ Senators Lautenberg and Menendez, Congress made available $1.339M in federal funding for the purposes of conducting an industry-NMFS cooperative trawl survey ($1.25M) targeting monkfish from Maine to North Carolina in 2008. The 2008 survey will be the 3^rd and final cooperative survey conducted during the past 9 years with the first two surveys in 2001 and 2004. The information from these cooperative surveys provides estimates of total monkfish stock biomass and fishing mortality rates and is used directly in the stock assessment process. The remaining portion of the funding ($89,000) will be used to support on going efforts by Rutgers University scientists to assess migratory patterns of important commercial and recreational fish species along the East coast.

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Solar power initiative can save key fishing ground

By JAMES LOVGREN Asbury Park Press - July 13, 2008

The growing demand for oil and natural gas has pushed their prices to record levels, making alternative --- and more economical --- energy sources such as solar power more attractive. As legislators and the public consider proposals from three companies to supply liquid natural gas to the New Jersey/New York market, it's critical, too, to consider the consequences of these plans.

It's important not to ignore the economic and environmental benefits of solar power as these companies try to convince the public we can drill our way out of our energy problems by spoiling our coasts and importing LNG from politically unstable areas of the world. It's also important not to ignore the fact that each of these three proposals are sited in or near the Mud Hole, a 30-mile-long underwater ravine ranging from 12 miles to 30 miles off Monmouth County's coastline. The Mud Hole is one of the most productive fishing grounds on the East Coast.

The LNG proposals allow no room for fishing, neither around the actual unloading facility nor along the 30 miles to 50 miles of planned pipeline. The New Jersey commercial fishing industry cannot afford to lose this prolific fishing area and survive: The Mud Hole offers prime grounds for numerous fish, including fluke, black-back flounder, whiting, squid, ling, bluefish, lobster and scallops. Given the increasing costs of transporting food to our market, that's a loss neither the industry nor the public can afford.

Two of the oldest fishing cooperatives in the United States, the Belford Seafood Co-op and the Fishermans Dock Co-op Inc. in Point Pleasant Beach, have provided hundreds of millions of pounds of fish to the public for decades. The majority of their catches come from the Mud Hole. Some 80 percent of New Jersey's lobster fishery operates on the sides of the Mud Hole. Scallop vessels trawl the top.

The fishing industry already is suffering from an overzealous attempt by the National Marine Fishery Service to create a petting zoo full of fish that no one can catch. Reduced quotas, plus the confiscation of permits, have severely affected the commercial fishing industry's ability to survive. To have "big oil" come in and industrialize New Jersey's most important fishing ground would be the last straw.

This appears to be an us-or-them decision: food or fuel. There's no denying we need food, with record high prices and riots throughout the world underscoring the current food crisis. But without energy, the world stops. Record high prices for oil and gas are underscoring another hunger --- the insatiable appetite humans have for fuel.

That is why solar power makes sense now.

Consider this: Do we really need LNG facilities off New Jersey's beaches when there are three LNG unloading facilities off the East Coast operating at only 20 percent of their capacity? That allows for years of increased growth.

In addition, New Jersey has a few older power plants that need to be replaced or upgraded. LNG certainly is cleaner than coal, but do we need to import more fossil fuel into this country?

We have one of the world's largest gas fields in the Appalachian Mountain range. Why don't we tap that? Why keep sending our dollars and jobs overseas?

According to the Energy Information Administration, we exported more than 500 million barrels of petroleum products last year, mostly in the form of refined gasoline and diesel fuel. Yet we're told there's a shortage. Why?

The real question is this: Can we continue to use fossil fuels recklessly in light of the undeniable evidence of the environmental catastrophe being created by global warming from greenhouse gases?

I have seen, firsthand, major shifts in fishery migrations that can be explained only by warming waters. Many plant and animal species will not be able to adapt to these changes. We are creating an environmental Armageddon.

But, fortunately, we have the power to stop it. That power lies in the sun, the caretaker of all life on Earth.

Solar power has come a long way in the last few years, with nano-solar technology vastly increasing its cost-effectiveness. By using solar power, we can help become energy independent of foreign fossil fuels, while reducing global warming.

The biggest problem with solar power right now is we cannot produce solar panels fast enough to meet demand. That's why I am proposing a solar-power initiative for the state of New Jersey.

The plan would involve installing solar panels on every house and every building in the state within the next 25 years. To do this would require the construction of our own solar power manufacturing plant (or two). Instead of our power companies building new fossil fuel-burning plants, give these companies tax incentives to build solar power manufacturing plants.

By doing this, homeowners will see drastically reduced electric bills; new power plants won't have to be built. Tens of thousands of jobs would be created in the manufacturing, installation and maintenance of these solar panels. All of this would happen courtesy of collecting free energy from the sun.

Add it up: numerous jobs created; an economic stimulus that would drive New Jersey's economy for decades, all the while benefiting long-suffering taxpayers with reduced electric bills; the reduction of greenhouse gases; keeping our dollars in America; and our troops at home, instead of fighting in the Middle East.

When you finish tallying the benefits, solar energy is a bargain. But if the residents of New Jersey do not put pressure on our legislators and our governor, we will continue to suffer from fossil-fuel pollution, the manipulations of big oil --- and, if the LNG plans go through, the loss of a prime source of local food and our fishing industry.

*James Lovgren is the owner and captain of Viking II out of the Fishermans Dock Co-op, Point Pleasant Beach, and on the boards of the Garden State Seafood Association and Clean Ocean Action.*

GSSA is asking you to please call Governor Corzine's office in support of bill S1553 Marina Access Legislation and bill 1390 Abandoned Vessel Bill.

The Governor's office phone is (609) 292-6000.

You can respectfully request he sign both bills.

Below is a brief description of the legislation

Thank you for your support.

Greg DiDomenico
GSSA

Waterfront Access Legislation S1553- The Senate and the Assembly passed this legislation and will impose a two year moratorium on the NJDEP Public Access requirements pertaining to 24-hour access for the public at waterfront properties in New Jersey. This legislation is on the Governor's desk waiting his signature.

Abandoned Vessel Bill S-1390/A1796- This legislation was successfully passed by both the Senate and Assembly and went to the Governor’s desk for his signature. This legislation would revise statutes concerning abandoned vessels to include sunken vessels and authorize municipalities to remove abandoned vessels from municipal waterways. This would apply to all boats including New Jersey registered recreational boats and USCG Documented vessels.

THE U.S. SENATE IS PLANNING TO ACT UPON CALIFORNIA SENATOR BARBARA BOXER'S BILL REQUIRING THAT ALL VESSELS, INCLUDING COMMERCIAL FISHING AND PARTY/CHARTER VESSELS POSSESS A NON-POINT DISCHARGE PERMIT.

THIS LEGISLATION COULD BE ACTED UPON BEFORE THE JULY 4TH RECESS.

THIS BILL WILL ALLOW ONLY FOR RECREATIONAL FISHING VESSELS TO RECEIVE A DISCHARGE PERMIT EXEMPTION.

THIS LEGISLATION DOES NOT PROVIDE AN EXEMPTION FOR COMMERCIAL FISHING VESSELS AND DOES NOT PROVIDE A CLEAR EXEMPTION FOR ALL FOR HIRE VESSELS.

WITHOUT A DISCHARGE EXEMPTION, VESSELS WILL BE FORCED TO APPLY FOR AND HOLD A PERMIT ON BOARD. THIS COULD VERY LIKELY MAKE VESSELS WITH SUCH PERMITS SUBJECT TO FUTURE REQUIREMENTS AND RESTRICTIONS.

WE HAVE A VERY LIMITED TIME FRAME IN WHICH TO ACT ON THIS LEGISLATION. IF YOU ARE CONCERNED, CONTACT SENATORS LAUTENBERG AND MENENDEZ AND REQUEST THEY HOLD SENATE 2766 BILL AND WORK TO SECURE A SIMILAR EXEMPTION TO INCLUDE COMMERCIAL FISHING VESSELS AND ALL FOR HIRE VESSELS.

CALL NOW:

SENATOR FRANK LAUTENBERG
(202) 224-3224

SENATOR ROBERT MENENDEZ
(202) 224-4744

NMFS 2007 Report to Congress on the Status of the
Fisheries: Seven Stocks Removed from Overfishing List, None Added" See the report at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/statusoffisheries/SOSmain.htm

May 28, 2008

On behalf of the Garden State Seafood Association we respectfully request you co-sponsor and work for immediate passage of H.R. 5404 and S. 2630, “The Commercial Fishing Industry Health Care Coverage Act of 2008.” The Fishing Industry Healthcare Coverage Act of 2008 is necessary to research, plan, implement, and run a health care coverage program that meets the unique needs of the fishing families in each state.

Health care coverage for fishing families is the #1 need shared by every fishing family in the entire nation. Fishing families are 3 to 4 times more likely to be uninsured than the average citizen of the United States. Our industry's need for health care is largely due to declining incomes which are a result of overbearing federal and state fisheries management regulations.

A program developed by the Massachusetts Fishing Partnership Health Plan (FPHP) provides a promising precedent that has been in place for over 10 years. The success of the Massachusetts plan to greatly expand the number of covered persons in the fishing community hinges on providing healthcare coverage through a dedicated program for fishing families. The State of Massachusetts recognized the need for a dedicated program for fishing families. This is because the unique nature of the fishing industry makes fishermen particularly difficult to insure and enroll. As a result of an approach designed to match the fishing community need, the rate of uninsured in the Massachusetts fishing community dropped from 43% to 13%. In Massachusetts, fishermen pay 60% of the costs of the program. Because of this and because of the fact that many families are getting preventive coverage for the first time, the Massachusetts program showed a cost savings of over $3 for every public $1 spent.

Enacting the Commercial Fishing Industry Health Care Coverage Act of 2008 would establish a health care program that would allow states and organizations to develop health plans – based on their specific region's needs – to provide high quality coverage to fishing families while also obtaining significant cost savings to taxpayers.

Thank you for your consideration to co-sponsor H.R. 5404 and S. 2630.

Sincerely

Gregory P. DiDomenico
Executive Director
Garden State Seafood Association

Thanks to the efforts of many people and organizations all around the country, we continue to acquire co-sponsors to the Commercial Fishing Industry Health Care Coverage Act of 2008, H.R. 5404 and S2630. The fishing community organizations that have endorsed the legislation are responsible for the 26 co-sponsors we have in the House and Senate. We need more co-sponsors as soon as possible to move the bill forward in this session. You can help by adding your organization to the list below if it is not already there.
Please contact me for more information.

ORGANIZATIONS IN SUPPORT
H.R. 5404 and S. 2630
‘‘Commercial Fishing Industry Health Care Coverage Act of 2008''.

Please note: These organizations have committed their support (verbally or in writing) for the Commercial Fishing Industry Health Care Coverage Act of 2008

NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Commercial Fishermen of America
Apostleship of the Sea

REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

American Albacore Fishing Association
Deep Sea Fishermen's Union of the Pacific
East Coast Tuna Association
Gulf Fishermen's Association
Institute of Fisheries Resources (San Francisco)
Maryland Watermen's Association
Northeast Seafood Coalition
Northwest Albacore Producers Association
Pacific Coast Federation of Commercial Fishermen's Associations
Seafood Producers Cooperative
Southern Shrimp Alliance
United Fishermen of Alaska
Western Fishboat Owners Association

STATE & LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS

Association of Family Fishermen (LA)
Bourgeois Fishing Charters (LA)
Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen's Association
Fishing Vessel Owner's Association (WA)
Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen's Association
Garden State Seafood Association
Gloucester Fishermen's Wives Association
Grand Bayou Community United, Port Sulfur, LA
Griffin Fishing Charters (LA)
Hawaii Longliners Association
Ladies of Lafourche (LA)
Louisiana Bayoukeeper, Inc (LA)
Louisiana Charter Captains Association
Louisiana Environmental Action Network/Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper
Louisiana Shrimp Association
Maine Lobstermen's Association
Massachusetts Fishermen's Partnership
Massachusetts Lobstermen's Association
Organized Seafood Association of Alabama
Penobscot East Resource Center (ME)
Port Arthur Fishermen's Association (TX)
San Francisco Crab Boat Owners Association
South Carolina Fishermen's Alliance
Stonington Fisheries Alliance (ME)
United Commercial Fisherman's Association (LA)
Washington Trollers Association

David Bergeron, Vice President
Fishing Partnership Health Plan
1383 Washington Street
Newton, Massachusetts 02465
dbergeron@fphp.org
www.fphp.org
(617) 680-3548

Alexandria, VA - The Commission's Horseshoe Crab Management Board has approved Draft Addendum V to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Horseshoe Crab for public comment and review. Addendum IV is due to expire on September 30, 2008. Draft Addendum V was initiated to continue horseshoe crab management in Delaware Bay.

Based on the most recent surveys of horseshoe crabs, it appears that management measures in Addendum IV and previous management plans are resulting in increased horseshoe crab abundance. A horseshoe crab trawl survey administered by Virginia Tech shows increases over the past four to five years of male and female horseshoe crabs in ocean waters near the Delaware Bay. A survey of spawning crabs on the beaches of Delaware Bay indicate stable female spawning activity and increased male spawning over the past nine years.

However, horseshoe crab management is a multi-species issue. Despite the positive signs in population growth of horseshoe crabs around Delaware Bay, red knots, one of many shorebird species that feed on horseshoe crab eggs, show no sign of recovery. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Shorebird Technical Committee will again examine shorebird survey data from this spring to determine the latest trends.

The Draft Addendum will contain all the current provisions of Addendum IV as options. These include a delayed, male-only harvest in New Jersey and Delaware; a delayed harvest in Maryland; and a prohibition on landing of horseshoe crabs in Virginia from federal waters from January 1 through June 7. Further, the Draft Addendum proposes that no more than forty percent of Virginiaâ€*s quota may be landed from ocean waters and those landings must be comprised of a minimum male to female ratio of 2:1.

Copies of the Draft Addendum will be made available by June 13, 2008. It is anticipated that several Mid-Atlantic states will be conducting public hearings on the Draft Addendum. A notice of the Draft Addendum's availability as well as the public hearing schedule will be released in mid-June. For more information, please contact Braddock Spear, Senior Fisheries Management Plan Coordinator for Policy, at (202) 289-6400 or bspear@asmfc.org.

****************************

Tina Berger
Public Affairs Specialist
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
1444 I Street. NW, Sixth Floor
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202)289-6400
FAX: (202)289-6051
Email: tberger@asmfc.org
www.asmfc.org

Coastal Ocean Coalition ignores accuracy and rationality in advancing its anti-fishing, anti-seafood consumer agenda

Trenton, NJ - In a recent opinion piece in the Asbury Park Press, Coastal Ocean Coalition Director Benson Chiles has once again demonstrated his organization’s willingness to stretch credulity far beyond normal bounds.

In an assault on the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council (Council), he first attacks it for supporting the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) horseshoe crab management plan allowing a severely restricted commercial harvest. He then attacks it for not supporting the Commission’s tautog management plan.

He goes on to list what he terms “overfished” New Jersey fisheries, including monkfish, lobster, summer flounder, scup, and tautog, as further justification for removing or revamping the Council. The Council does not manage any of those species. While it determines how New Jersey’s share of the final three species will be caught (i.e. closed seasons, trip limits, etc.), that’s as far as its authority extends. Of the remaining two, the Council is not involved in managing either, and neither the monkfish nor the lobster fishery is considered overfished. While we agree with Mr. Chiles’ conclusion that these fisheries are not being managed as they should be, his attempt to attribute the responsibility for that to the Council and the fishermen on it is sadly misinformed if not purposely misleading.

While New Jersey was found to be out of compliance with the Commission (not the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Council, as Mr. Chiles called it) in tautog management, this wasn’t because the Council determined that effective management measures weren’t necessary, only that the measures proposed by New Jersey weren’t acceptable to the Commission. The issue wasn’t whether New Jersey was going to comply or not, it was how New Jersey proposed to do so.

As far as his claim of imminent peril for the red knot, a migratory shorebird that feeds, among other things, on horseshoe crab eggs, he failed to mention that the species is not on any “endangered” list, and in spite of his implication to the contrary, not all scientists feel that the species is in imminent threat of extinction. Regardless of the species’ status, measures have been taken to protect it, including the Commission’s recommendation for a limited male horseshoe crab harvest for New Jersey and Delaware. This prudent recommendation is what caused the commercial fishing members of the Council to vote against the moratorium, not a disregard for the red knot.

Mr. Chiles and his foundation-supported cronies want to replace the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council with their own bureaucratic creation heavily weighted with environmental activists who, we have no doubt, share his biases. Any evaluation of such a move should be based on realities, not misinformation.

Garden State Seafood Association represents New Jersey’s commercial fishing industry and associated businesses. For more information, please contact Greg DiDomenico (gregdi@voicenet.com) at 609 675 0202 or Scot Mackey at 609-392-3100.

NEW JERSEY REGISTER
VOLUME 40, NUMBER 4
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2008
PUBLIC NOTICE
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
OFFICE OF LEGAL AFFAIRS
NOTICE OF RECEIPT OF PETITION FOR RULEMAKING

Division of Fish and Wildlife Rules
Horseshoe Crabs
N.J.A.C. 7:25-18.16

Petitioner: Michael Litchko

Take notice that on January 17, 2008, the Department of EnvironmentalProtection (Department) received a petition for rulemaking pursuant toN.J.S.A. 52:14B-4(f) and N.J.A.C. 7:1D-1.1 from Michael Litchko(petitioner). The petitioner requests that the Department amend its Fish andWildlife Rules to make changes related to the taking of horseshoe crabs asdescribed below.

The petitioner asserts that, under the present regulations, the Division ofFish and Wildlife is out of compliance with the Atlantic States MarineFisheries Commission's Horseshoe Crab Management Board's recommendations, whichthe petitioner indicates call for harvest of 100,000 male horseshoe crabs for2008. Therefore, petitioner, as a New Jersey licensed horseshoe crab harvester,requests that the Department propose and adopt amendments that would allow amale only harvest of 100,000 horseshoe crabs for 2008. In accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:1D-1.1, the Department will subsequently mailto the petitioner and file with the Office of Administrative Law a notice ofaction on the petition.

40 N.J.R. 893(a)

Scientist Advocates Increased Fisheries Data Gathering (2/21).

Fisheries management decisions are often based on population models. However, those models need quality data to be effective. It's that caliber and volume of data that is lacking in fisheries science, according to Milo Adkison, an associate professor in the School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

"Many fisheries scientists spend a lot of time and effort doing complicated analyses using complex models of their data," said Adkison. "This effort might be better spent collecting more and better data."

Adkison is one of several scientists who spoke during a session on improving fishery sustainability Feb. 19 at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting, which begins today in San Francisco. The session, moderated by UAF fisheries professor Terrance Quinn, focused on whether advances in science and technology can produce a spectrum of sustainable fisheries and minimize environmental degradation within an ecosystem. Adkison's presentation centered on why collecting data is important to accurately assess the health and population of various fisheries. His presentation is called "Model Complexity vs. Data Quality: Are Our Models Too Complex?" The primary limitation in fisheries management decisions is the absence of quality data, Adkison says. He says that scientists and fishery managers would be better served with simpler modeling analyses and improved data...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases
/2007/02/070220012353.htm

Seafood Group, Restaurants Blast Proposed Ban on Reef Fishing
Call measure unfair to diners who don’t fish

Organizations representing the interests of New Jersey’s seafood lovers, including the Garden State Seafood Association and the New Jersey Restaurant Association, are coming together to oppose legislation which they say would strip people who don’t fish of their right to enjoy ocean-fresh New Jersey lobsters, sea bass, blackfish and other species.

On Thursday, the State Senate’s Environment Committee will consider legislation that these groups warn would deny consumers their right to enjoy fresh seafood harvested from New Jersey’s artificial reefs. The legislation, sponsored by State Senator Sean Kean (R – Monmouth), would effectively ban commercial fishing over the State’s artificial reefs, and direct the State to push to expand the ban beyond New Jersey waters. The legislation comes in response to complaints by some recreational fishermen that their lines occasionally get tangled in commercial boats’ gear.

Deborah Dowdell, President of the New Jersey Restaurant Association, sees the debate as a matter of fairness, adding, “New Jersey citizens are equally entitled to the rich harvest of our coastal waters, whether they catch it themselves or depend on the efforts of New Jersey’s commercial fishermen to catch it for them. Ocean fresh New Jersey seafood is second to none, and isn’t the exclusive property of any one group.”

Greg DiDomenico, Executive Director of Garden State Seafood Association, says his group has been seeking a mutually satisfactory solution to the complaints of some recreational fishermen. “Empowered by their ongoing success in maintaining their monopoly of New Jersey’s striped bass stocks, recreational anglers seem to believe the New Jersey legislature will reserve any fishery they want for their sole catching—and eating—pleasure. Striped bass first, then the fish on these reefs. What will follow? This attitude ignores the fact that our seafood is a public resource. It belongs to all of us, and folks shouldn’t have to catch it themselves to enjoy it.”

The reefs, attracting fish and shellfish from surrounding areas, were created and are maintained with public funds, and have been used for commercial fishing since before reef-building programs officially started in the early 1980s.

The hearing on the bill, S- 336, is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 21 in Room 6 of the State House Annex.

Greg DiDomenico can be contacted at 609 675 0202 or via email at gregdi@voicenet.com.

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