Van Drew Measure Asks President to Reject Summer Flounder Catch Reduction

TRENTON – A measure sponsored by Senator Jeff Van Drew and Bob Smith urging President Donald Trump to reject the proposed reduction in the summer flounder catch limit – an action that would have a drastic impact on fishing in New Jersey and the economy – and urging the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to conduct a new summer flounder assessment was approved today by the Senate Environment and Energy Committee.
“We are very concerned about the decision to move forward with a catch reduction. That fact that it was based on faulty data only adds insult to injury,” said Senator Van Drew (D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic.) “We are urging the President to reject this dramatic change that will have a real negative effect on both the fishing industry and our economy and asking for a new assessment before any new catch quota is implemented.”
“Fishermen in the state are going to be severely impacted by this policy change. We want the federal government to pause the process so that an accurate assessment of the summer flounder stock can be determined before moving forward with the catch reduction,” said Senator Smith (D-Middlesex). “That is the responsible way to handle this matter, given the severe economic hardship that would be caused by such a dramatic catch reduction.”
Based on the 2016 Stock Assessment Update report published by NOAA, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council jointly recommended a reduction in summer flounder catch limits for the 2017 and 2018 seasons.  The findings in the report were based largely on data obtained through random sampling.  As a result, the assessments made are merely estimates which may not represent the actual status of the summer flounder stock.
The bill’s sponsors and members of the New Jersey Congressional Delegation, warn that the significant reduction in catch limits could destroy the recreational and commercial summer flounder industries in the State, and cause tremendous harm to the economy of the New Jersey shore. 
Many communities along the New Jersey shore that rely heavily on fishing are already struggling, in part, due to reduced summer flounder quotas from prior years.  According to the Jersey Coast Anglers Association, from 2007 to 2014, New Jersey lost two million fishing trips, 40 percent of which were in pursuit of summer flounder.
The resolution (a Senate Committee Substitute for SR-102 and SR-103) urges NOAA to conduct a new benchmark assessment of the summer flounder stock to ensure that the assessments are accurate, and a potentially-devastating reduction in summer flounder quotas is not implemented unnecessarily.
The committee approved the resolution by a vote of 5-0. It next heads to the full Senate for a vote.