- For further information on any of these issues, contact GSSA Executive Director Greg DiDomenico at gregdi@voicenet.com
On August 1st GSSA staff attended the NJ Marine Fisheries Council Committee meetings at Nacote Creek. The Spiny Dogfish meeting was at 7 PM and the Artificial Reef meeting was at 8 PM.
The Spiny Dogfish Committee agreed to continue to pursue a directed fishery for spiny dogfish in order to take advantage of the recent increases in states waters quotas. Many questions and issues were raised by the Committee and by the NJDEP staff.
Those issues include;
1) A May 1st, 2008 opening might not be possible without state legislation and that any legislation that was initiated should include language that would allow NJDEP the authority to adopt interim rule regarding spiny dogfish and that any legislation needs to consider the current NJ gillnet regulations.
2) The staff was concerned that current regulations would prevent federal dealers from buying fish from states waters.
3) Funds need to be generated to give NJDEP the ability to monitor the landings and the industry needs to discuss the possibility of a spiny dogfish permit with a significant fee or supporting a license to sell permit for all species that might also include a limited entry provisions for spiny dogfish fishery.
4) An appropriate trip limit per day would be 3000 pounds.
5) A mesh size limitation would be between 5 and 5 1/2 inch mesh.
6) Should the industry consider a twine size?
7) Is a trawl fishery likely to develop?
8) The staff is researching if it is necessary for it to be a male fishery only?
9) The staff has some concern about bycatch of striped bass and sturgeon. GSSA staff responded with observer program data that shows insignificant byctach of striped bass. We are looking into sturgeon bycatch and will let you all know when we have received the information.
The Artificial Reef meeting was at 8 PM and the Committee took comments regarding the DEP Proposal and made it clear that the proposed regulations were a "working document". GSSA and other industry members was generally supportive of the DEP proposal with a few changes to accommodate the fish pot fishery and the lobster fishery.
We are hopeful that NJDEP will consider our suggestions, which include:
1) Trap/Pot prohibitions only apply to fish pots, and the regulations would clearly allow for lobster pot fishing to occur on Artificial Reefs provided we use sinking groundlines. We were supportive of pot limits per trawl and increased marking requirements and the possibility that fishermen could set pots in a north / south direction.
2) GSSA requested that the fish pot prohibition was from May 1st to October 1st allowing for time to set pots and soak time that would make it possible to land fish on November 1st.
GSSA was opposed to these regulations being pursued in Federal Artificial Reefs.
On Thursday August 2nd GSSA organized and attended an industry meeting in Woods Hole, Massachusetts at the NEFSC to discuss the Atlantic mackerel fishery with science staff from the NMFS.
Many topics were discussed including possible research opportunities to further our knowledge of pelagic fisheries. We also had productive discussions about the upcoming stock assessments, the usefulness of data being collected by the fishing industry and the preparation for resource sharing agreements with the Canadian government.
GSSA staff attended and participated in the MAFMC meetings that took place in Stony Brook, New York from August 6th - 9th.
The MAFMC decided to delay the issue of Sector Allocations within the Illex fishery in Amendment 10 and to pursue that issue in a stand alone Amendment. GSSA will be organizing industry meetings to discuss this topic. Amendment 10 Alternatives were finalized and will be provided to the public. This Amendment will be addressing bycatch in the directed Loligo fishery. GSSA will provide you all with the alternatives contained in the document.
The MAFMC voted to submit Amendment 9 to the Squid, Mackerel, Butterfish FMP to the Secretary of Commerce. GSSA will provide you all with Proffered Alternatives.
The Commission and Council approved a TAL of 15.77 million pounds for the 2008 summer flounder fishery, divided into a 9.46 million pound commercial quota and a 6.31 million pound recreational harvest limit. The approved TAL, which is higher than the range of options recommended by the Monitoring Committee (the scientific advisory body), has a 75% probability of preventing overfishing.
The 2008 black sea bass TAL was set at 4.22 million pounds, divided into a 2.07 million pound commercial quota and a 2.15 million pound recreational harvest limit. The approved TAL is consistent with the TAL recommended by the Monitoring Committee; it does represent a 2.28 million pound decrease from last year and responds to the stock’s decreased biomass and overfished condition.
For scup, the Commission and Council approved a total allowable catch (TAC) of 9.9 million pounds, which includes both a TAL and discard allowance. The TAC is divided into a 5.46 million pound commercial quota and a 1.88 million pound recreational harvest limit. The approved TAC is consistent with that recommended by the Monitoring Committee.For bluefish, the Commission and Council approved a TAC of 31.9 million pounds, which includes both a TAL and discard allowance. The TAC is divided into an 8.9 million pound commercial quota and a 19.2 million pound recreational harvest limit.
Mid - Atlantic Fishery Management Council Members from New Jersey
GSSA presented Mrs. Fran Puskas with an award thanking her for her dedication to the commercial fishing industry and her hard work as a member of the MAFMC. We are grateful for Mr. Erling Berg's decision to accept his nomination the the MAFMC and thank him in advance for his time and effort.
With the help of NJDEP staff we are hoping to request a transfer of bluefish landings from the State of Florida.
New Jersey's bluefish quota for the gillnet fishery has reached approximately %95 of its allocation. In order for us to have a fall fishery the State of New Jersey would have to request that a transfer of unharvested bluefish quota be completed in time for the Fall fishery. GSSA staff has communicated this need with NJDEP staff and has spoken with staff from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, will keep you posted on our progress.
Garden State Seafood Association website
The new website – which is still under construction – is at http://www.gardenstateseafood.org. One particularly useful feature should be the calendar, where we will list meetings and special events. If you have any comments or questions about the website, please contact Nils Stolpe at nilsstolpe@fishnet.com.
