[Nj_federation_alert] Enviros want authority over fisheries management

[ap.maurosr at verizon.net]

March 11, 2008 asbury park press
Fishermen angry over new legislative initiative

By JOHN GEISER
CORRESPONDENT 
A legislative initiative that would give environmental activists authority over fisheries management decisions in New Jersey waters has drawn the ire of recreational and commercial fishermen.

The measure is termed the New Jersey Coastal and Ocean Protection Council Act, and it is backed by the Coastal Ocean Coalition.

Alison Chase, a member of the Natural Resources Defense Council, put out a press release Feb. 27 in support of the bill that painted a dismal picture of the state's marine resources.

"Close to a third of New Jersey's most important commercial and recreational saltwater fish and shellfish are depleted or are being overfished," she claimed.

James A. Donofrio, executive director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance, said the pronouncement is wrong.

"The environmental industry, which is driven by the Pew Foundation, continues to sell environmental misrepresentation," he said.

Donofrio pointed out that of the 13 species of fish and shellfish that the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council manages, only three are considered overfished: summer flounder, porgies and butterfish.

He added that fishing groups are working with the council and independent scientists that they have retained to address the problems.

Nils Stolpe, a research specialist for the commercial fishing industry, reminded that neither sea scallops nor striped bass, two additional commercially and recreationally important fisheries, are being overfished.

Striped bass are managed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and sea scallops are managed jointly by the New England and Mid-Atlantic councils.

"Three out of 15 hardly comes "close to a third,' but this type of exaggeration has become part and parcel of the strategies of those members of the environmental crisis industry that have decided their futures lie in overthrowing a fisheries management system that has proven it can effectively manage our state's and our nation's fisheries," he said.

Stolpe added that these environmentalists have spent considerable time and money to create the impression that crises exist in certain fisheries where they know they do not, such as summer flounder and spiny dogfish.

"For example, the press and public have been bombarded with their warnings of the demise of summer flounder, yet the data shows that summer flounder stocks have increased by nearly 400 percent since the Mid-Atlantic Council implemented a management plan," he stressed.

"Apparently, exaggerating and feigning crises gets publicity where objectively acknowledging the gains from the sacrifices of recreational and commercial fishermen doesn't," he added.

Greg DiDomenico, executive director of the Garden State Seafood Association, emphasized the progress that has been made in fisheries management under the current system.

"After three decades of experience in managing our fisheries in both state and federal waters, we are trying to reach the point at which the welfare of the fishermen and of the communities that they support is in balance with the welfare of the fish and shellfish stocks that they harvest," he said.

Raymond D. Bogan, legal counsel for the United Boatmen, said upsetting the present management system would be a disaster to the recreational and commercial fishing communities.

"This balance is critical to maintaining the character of the Jersey Shore, and we are collectively committed to fully achieving it," he said. "Members of Ms. Chase's coalition have demonstrated time and again that the only balance that they are interested in is one that makes no allowance for fishermen or fishing, just as they've demonstrated that they won't let actual facts interfere with achieving it."

Organizations that support the Coastal Ocean Coalition include: Bayshore Regional Watershed Council, Environmental Defense, Environment New Jersey, Natural Resources Defense Council, New Jersey Audubon, New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club, New Jersey Environmental Lobby, New Jersey PEER, and Surfrider Foundation.

Capt. Joe Bogan, owner of the Jamaica II from Bogan's Basin, Brielle, said the boat has not been getting out much, but some cod, ling, and pollock have been caught when the boat has sailed.




Anthony P. Mauro, Sr.
Chairman, New Jersey Outdoor Alliance: 
"The  voice of the conservationist." 
www.njoutdooralliance.org