Though there seemed to be strong support for keeping the 18-inch minimum for fluke and getting a longer season as a result, there was big surprise after public comment at this afternoon’s N.J. Marine Fisheries Council meeting in Toms River when a 17 1/2-inch minimum prevailed on a 5 to 4 Council vote. Adopting that half-inch shorter keeper in Option 5 resulted in not only a shorter fall season (closing after Sept. 28), but a drop in bag limit from eight to five — and the loss of 23 days of fluking as compared with Option 2 — which had been favored to prevail going into the meeting. A council member told me that opinions expressed at the meeting seemed to be about 60-40 in favor of the 17 1/2-inch option.

There was no surprise in the case of sea bass, as Option B was approved — providing a longer split season. of May 19 to Oct. 14 plus Nov. 1 to Dec. 31 at the same 12 1/2-inch minimum and 25-fish bag limit as last year.

Tim Behany won the Angler of the Year placque at Sunday’s Hi-Mar Striper Club Awards Dinner held in the Channel Club at Monmouth Beach. That award is based on points derived from weigh-ins of the species eligible, and Behany managed to win three of them with a 27.17-pound striper, an 11.8-pound bluefish, and a 1.67-pound winter flounder. Greg Vongas had the largest fluke at 9.01 pounds; Jim Curcio led in blackfish with an 8-pounder; Andy Knouse  weighed a 5.2-pound sea bass; and Joe Tomaszewski boated a 23-pound cod.  Stephen Machalaba recorded the largest tagged and released striper with a 44-incher, while Alan Beneroff once again claimed honors for the most tagged and released stripers.

A good crowd turned out to enjoy an outstanding buffet dinner at the beautiful facility overlooking Shrewsbury River. Bruce Smith, of the JCAA, won the most unique door prize — a grapple anchor hand-crafted and rigged with chain by Gene Graman, the dinner organizer who runs his That’s It out of Twin Lights Marina in Highlands

The Marine Fisheries Council will make decisions on regulations for the upcoming fluke and sea bass seasons at their meeting on Thursday at 4 p.m. in the Toms River Township Municipal Building at 33 Washington St.

Five alternatives for fluke have been provided, most of which provide a longer season than last year’s May 7 to Sept. 25. By staying at 18 inches and eight fluke, we could have a spring to fall season lasting as long as to Oct. 28. Opting for a 17.5-inch minimum would drop the season to just May 5 to Sept. 28 with five fish — and with a 17-inch minimum the season would be only from May 29 to Sept. 1 with three fish.

Rich Johnson, of the Fishing Line, reports the New York Department of Environmental Conservation is favoring four fluke at a 19½-inch minimum for their waters in order to get a season from May 3 to Sept. 30. Dropping back to 19 inches would considerably shorten that season.

Check my blog entry at nj.com/shore/blogs/fishing for all the New Jersey summer flounder and sea bass alternatives, as well as Mid-Atlantic Council quotas on bluefish that must be commented upon by Thursday. The Council doesn’t appear to be aware of how poor last year’s bluefishing was in New York/New Jersey Bight, and supports a transfer of recreational quota to commercial interests.

In the case of sea bass, we have only two options, with B providing a few more days (210) of a split season running May 19 to Oct. 14 and resuming from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31 with the same 25 sea bass at a 12.5-inch minimum as last year. The winter season would also remain open from Jan.1 to Feb. 28, 2013, with a 15-fish bag, under proposed federal waters regulations.

The Marine Fisheries Council will make decisions on regulations for the upcoming fluke and sea bass seasons at their meeting on Thursday at 4 p.m. in the Toms River Township Municipal Building at 33 Washington St.

Five alternatives for fluke have been provided, most of which provide a longer season than last year’s May 7 to Sept. 25. By staying at 18 inches and eight fluke, we could have a spring to fall season lasting as long as to Oct. 28. Opting for a 17.5-inch minimum would drop the season to just May 5 to Sept. 28 with five fish — and with a 17-inch minimum the season would be only from May 29 to Sept. 1 with three fish.

Rich Johnson, of the Fishing Line, reports the New York Department of Environmental Conservation is favoring four fluke at a 19½-inch minimum for their waters in order to get a season from May 3 to Sept. 30. Dropping back to 19 inches would considerably shorten that season.

Check out my blog entry at nj.com/shore/blogs/fishing for all the New Jersey summer flounder and sea bass alternatives, as well as Mid-Atlantic Council quotas on bluefish that must be commented upon by Thursday. The Council doesn’t appear to be aware of how poor last year’s bluefishing was in New York/New Jersey Bight, and supports a transfer of recreational quota to commercial interests.

In the case of sea bass, we have only two options, with B providing a few more days (210) of a split season running May 19 to Oct. 14 and resuming from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31 with the same 25 sea bass at a 12.5-inch minimum as last year. The winter season would also remain open from Jan.1 to Feb. 28, 2013, with a 15-fish bag, under proposed federal waters regulations.

  Written by  John Oswald, staff Writer for APP.com

On Wednesday, The Division of Fish and Wildlife issued a release informing recreational saltwater anglers and commercial fishermen of recent changes in regulations for river herring and tautog fisheries. The New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council approved these measures at their January 5 meeting and DEP Commissioner Martin recently signed these changes into effect.

These actions were taken to comply with Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) management plans for river herring and blackfish.

The river herring regulations were put in place due to concerns about the significant coastwide decline of river herring stocks.

Effective immediately, no person shall take, possess, land, purchase, sell or offer for sale any river herring (alewife and blueback) in the marine waters of the state. Only commercial vessels fishing exclusively in federal waters while operating a valid federal permit for Atlantic mackerel and/or Atlantic herring may possess river herring, up to a maximum of five percent by weight of all species possessed.

The exact cause for these coastwide declines remains uncertain, but numerous factors such as loss of spawning habitat, impediments to fish passage (i.e. dams), water quality degradation and fishing all likely played a role. Amendment 2 of the ASMFC fishery management plan for river herring prohibits both the recreational and commercial harvest of river herring in the waters of states that do not have an ASMFC- approved river herring sustainable management plan.

New Jersey does not have an approved plan since the available information on river herring stocks is not sufficient to definitively prove the States river herring stocks are sustainable. Other states along the East Coast —Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts and Rhode Island —have closed their river herring fisheries as well.

As far as blackfish are concerned, the new rules increase the size of legal blackfish to 15 inches and set the following seasons and bag limits: four fish from Jan. 1 to Feb 28; four fish from April 1 to April 30; one fish from July 27 to Aug. 31; one fish from Oct. 18 to Nov. 15; and four fish from Nov. 16 to Dec. 31. These regulations are also effective immediately.

Addendum VI from the ASMFC established a lower mortality rate for blackfish and called for a 56 percent coastwide reduction in blackfish harvest.

Individual states were directed to develop and implement regulations that will enable them to meet the new mortality rate. The new rules are New Jersesy’s response to Amenment VI.

http://www.app.com/article/20120202/NJSPORTS06/302020098/New-herring-tog-regs-now-place

The following was printed on App.com on Feb 2, 2012.

The National Marine Fisheries Service announced on Tuesday it was listing five distinct population segments of Atlantic sturgeon under the Endangered Species Act. The Chesapeake Bay, New York Bight, Carolina, and South Atlantic populations of Atlantic sturgeon will be listed as endangered, while the Gulf of Maine population will be listed as threatened.

It has been illegal to fish for, catch or keep Atlantic sturgeon for more than a decade. The listing decisions will not have an immediate effect on fishing. NOAA will work with fishery management councils, interstate fisheries managers, state agencies, and the fishing industry to find ways to further reduce bycatch of Atlantic sturgeon in federal and state waters without unduly hampering fishing activities. For example, NOAA continues to fund research to test modifications to fishing gear that can reduce bycatch of fish, including Atlantic sturgeon.

A team of biologists from NOAA, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service completed a formal status review for Atlantic sturgeon in 2007. The review indicated populations of Atlantic sturgeon remain far below historical levels.

In the Delaware River before 1890, there were an estimated 180,000 adult females spawning, and now the total spawning adults in that river is believed to number fewer than 300.

http://www.app.com/article/20120202/NJSPORTS06/302020102/Atlantic-sturgeon-listed-endangered

By Richard Gaines Staff Writer The Gloucester Daily Times Sat Jan 21, 2012, 01:34 AM EST

ASMFC Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Board Approves Draft Addendum XXII for Public Comment
Addendum Considers 2012 Black Sea Bass Recreational Measures

Arlington, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board (Board) has approved Draft Addendum XXII for public comment. The Draft Addendum proposes a program wherein the Board divides the recreational black sea bass coastwide allocations into state-by-state management for 2012 only.

The management plan for black sea bass does not provide an opportunity to craft recreational measures by regions or state, it only allows for a coastwide measure. Due to the wide geographic range of this species, the application of coastwide minimum size, possession limit, and season restrictions may not affect every area involved in the fishery the same way. States were concerned that the coastwide regulations disproportionately impacted states within the management unit; therefore, they approved Addendum XXI which allowed for state-by-state measures in 2011 for state waters only. Because Addendum XXI expired at the end of 2011 and the Board continues to have the same concerns for the 2012 fishing season, the Board initiated Draft Addendum XXII. The Draft Addendum is intended to provide the necessary management flexibility to mitigate potential disproportionate impacts on states that can result from
coastwide measures for 2012.

Only one state (New York) has scheduled a public hearing on the Draft Addendum, which will be held as part of New York’s Marine Resources Advisory Council Meeting, scheduled for January 17, 2012 at 7:00PM at New York State Department of Environmental Protection’s Marine Bureau Headquarters, 205 N. Belle Mead Road, East Setauket, New York. Any additional hearings will be posted to the Commission’s website at http://www.asmfc.org/meetings.htm.

Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addendum, either by attending public hearings or providing written comments. The Draft Addendum can be obtained at http://www.asmfc.org/speciesDocument…licComment.pdf or by contacting the Commission at 703. 842.0740. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on February 5, 2012 and should be forwarded to Toni Kerns, FMP Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at tkerns@asmfc.org (Subject line: Black Sea Bass). For more information, please contact Toni Kerns at 703.842.0740 or tkerns@asmfc.org. *************************
Tina Berger
Public Affairs Specialist
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N
Arlington, VA 22201-2196
(p) 703.842.0740
(f) 703.842.0741
tberger@asmfc.org
www.asmfc.org

ASMFC Vision: Healthy, self-sustaining populations for all Atlantic coast fish species or successful restoration well in progress by the year 2015.

The new rules increase the size of legal blackfish to 15 inches and set the following seasons and bag limits: Four fish from Jan. 1 to Feb 28; Four fish from April 1 to April 30; One fish from July 27 to Aug. 31; One fish from Oct. 18 to Nov. 15; Four fish from Nov. 16 to Dec. 31.

Addendum VI from the ASMFC established a lower mortality rate for blackfish and called for a 56 percent coastwide reduction in blackfish harvest.

Individual states were directed to develop and implement regulations that will enable them to meet the new mortality rate.

There are those, however, who say the Addendum did not address the bigger issues that face the tog fishery in New Jersey.

Capt. Adam Nowalsky, chairman of the New Jersey Chapter of the Recreational Fishing Alliance is among them.

Nowalsky was dissapointed by the fact that no action was taken on what is seen as the real problem in the blackfish fishery — illegal harvest.

“The original intent of the Commission’s blackfish addendum was to address illegal harvest of blackfish and yet that turned into no action being taken on illegal harvest,” Nowalsky said. He also questioned the science.

“This is very discouraging, given that individual state science shows states are fishing at much lower levels than what is indicated by a coastwide model, and this is purely due to the fact that the blackfish stock assessment is in dire need of improved science and we need to get that science moving as quickly as possible,” Nowalsky said.