Well, as you may have heard, some unfavorable news resulted from the recent meeting about the 2017 summer flounder regulations. As a result, the leaders of New Jersey have said they will continue the fight against this decision. Another effect of this decision could be the devastation of the recreational fishing industry up and down the Jersey coast. The restriction of size and bag limits of this fishery has caused an uproar that vows to go on for at least a little longer.
After a lengthy winter meeting of the Atlantic States Fisheries Commission on Thursday, Feb. 2, Option 5 was approved by a seven to three vote of the voting delegates. The three votes against were registered by the New Jersey delegates. This option means that New Jersey will operate under a three fish bag limit at 19 inches per fish for any ocean fishing. The Delaware Bay will operate under limits set at three fish at 18 inches. These regulations would be for a 128-day season. These numbers are down from last year when the ocean limits were five fish at 18 inches, while the bay was set at four fish at 18 inches.
Those numbers, while representing a reduction in catch, may not be enough. A 40 percent reduction was the goal, so the National Marine Fisheries Service could step in and impose two fish at a 20-inch limit. The season would be much shorter than normal.
U.S. Representative Frank LoBiondo has said that he will “run this ASMFC decision into the ground,” so it would seem that the angling community will have representation as this fight goes forward. Last week the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection also voiced disapproval, but that was before the vote. I’m sure his fight will also continue.
Checking around with boat owners and tackle shop operators found an understandable dislike with the ruling. Two points were repeatedly raised amongst the responses:
First and probably the most important is that the allowable fish, 19 inches and above, are mainly breeding age females. Captain Andrew from Sailor’s Delight Back Bay Fishing, who logs his patrons’ daily catch activity, reported a 10 percent keeper to throwback ratio. Legal-sized flounder are difficult to find, and when you do, it may be a breeder. The dilemma then is whether to keep a legal fish while removing a breeder, or to practice catch and release fishing and go home empty-handed. Cameron Koshland, owner of Boulevard Bait and Tackle on Sea Isle Boulevard, echoed the same opinion in that the breeders are allowed to be kept. He stated that fact in a letter to NOAA during the period for public opinion. He pointed out that flounder fishing has “gotten worse” since they started increasing the regulations during the last six years, and it makes no sense to be allowed to keep the breeder fish.
The second point that was mentioned by these and others I’ve conversed with is the overreach of the involved governmental agencies. I heard “they are coming right after fishermen” and that “such a large part of our local economy is controlled from forces outside of our control.” They are formulating decisions “based on random sampling and bad science.” That is one thing a lot of anglers wrote about during the public opinion period while requesting that the 2016 regulations be used again this year while more accurate, timely data could be collected.
An option favored by Captain Andrew was the use of slot fish. He would “happily embrace a 15- to 22-inch slot with a two- to three-fish bag limit.” Tied into this option would be the use of a trophy tag option, similar to the program used for stripers. The mention of slot fish has also been brought up before, and favored as it would allow anglers to go home with some fish at the end of their trip. A side benefit to point out would be that those larger breeder fish would have less pressure on them as the catch quota would be filled by the smaller, but legal, fish. Some of those fish would be males who have been shown to die off as they reach the 17-inch range. Finally, using the current rules in place requires you to release those smaller fish that may be gut-hooked. Those fish usually die, so their benefit to anglers is also lost.
A final idea voiced again by Captain Andrew is to have the Delaware Bay exemption, or an “adaption of Delaware’s regulations expanded to our county, or the lower end of the state as a whole.” That sounds like an interesting idea, and one that seems to be worth looking into.
Now let’s get to some actual “getting the line wet” fishing action. As with most recent action it revolves around the local tog scene. A couple large tog, both of the 17+ pound model size, were caught recently. One was caught by John Scullin while fishing on the Bayhound with Captain Al Crudele. It was caught on Feb. 5 – a super fish on Super Bowl Sunday. Also, that trip produced 11 other keepers plus 25 throwbacks. The other big blackfish was caught by an angler who was fishing from the Fishin’ Fever. It was “just north of 17” according to Captain Bob Cope. The rest of this trip saw 22 keepers caught with nine fish that crossed the 10-pound double-digit plateau. Another good outing was experienced on Monday as they returned to the dock with 17 keepers, four of those weighing between 10 and 12.5 pounds. It’s good to see that some nice fish are still around. From some guys I know up north, it seems that the tog fishing is really slow up there, and some there are honestly recommending that anyone looking for fish, head south.
Just a reminder: If you catch something, salt or fresh, either local or out of town, get a picture and send it in with a brief description. Until next week, take care and maybe I’ll see you around.
Submit your fishing news and photos to mrobbins@cmcherald.com.
