bababooey
08-17-2009, 06:33 PM
I guess that means people won't be able to net herring in Monmouth county in the spring either.:kooky:
http://www.app.com/article/20090717/OPINION05/907170340/N.J.+herring+fishery+faces+closure
N.J. herring fishery faces closure
July 17, 2009
It's going to take a a miracle to keep New Jersey's river herring fishery open past 2012.
In May, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) approved Amendment 2 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for shad and river herring. The amendment prohibits commercial or recreational fishing in state waters as of January 1, 2012, unless a state develops and submits for approval a sustainable management plan by January 1, 2010. The plan must be accepted for the fishery to remain open.
The amendment defines a sustainable fishery as "a commercial and/or recreational fishery that will not diminish the potential future stock reproduction and recruitment."
And therein lies the rub.
"We're right behind the big eight ball here and it's going to be difficult to come up with anything that's going to keep our fishery open," said Tom McCloy, administrator for the Marine Fisheries Administration of the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, the agency responsible for developing the plan.
"With this requirement, The ASMFC is essentially implementing a moratorium in the state of New Jersey. And the other states are in the same boat," McCloy said. "We don't have any sampling programs at the moment, nor have we had any, that are directed at river herring. We have other programs where we get information on river herring, but it's limited.
McCloy said the division, already pushed to the limit as far as resources go, would have to give up something in order to start focusing on river herring. And some of the those things, McCloy said, up are a little more important to New Jersey fishermen. He was speaking of summer flounder, striped bass, black sea bass, blackfish, bluefish and weakfish. The division is compelled to conduct mandatory sampling programs on those species.
"I don't want to minimize the importance of river herring, but it's not at the top of the list."
Plus, McCloy said, even if we had the wherewithal to start a sampling program, would it be enough in two years?
(2 of 3)
"The ASMFC now requires all state to prove their herring runs are sustainable in order to have a fishery, If you can't do that to the ASMFC's satisafaction, your fishery is closed," he said.
Submitted plans must clearly demonstrate that the state's river herring fisheries meet this new definition of sustainability through the development of targets which must be achieved and maintained. The plans are subject to Technical Committee review and Board approval prior to the fishing year beginning January 1, 2012.
The Board's action of Amendment 2 was taken in response to widespread concern regarding the decline of river herring stocks. While many populations of blueback herring and alewife, collectively known as river herring, are in decline or remain depressed at stable levels, lack of fishery-dependent and independent data makes it difficult to ascertain the status of river herring stocks coastwide.
Between 1985 and 2007, commercial landings of river herring decreased by 97 percent from 13.6 million pounds to 317,000 pounds. In response to declining stocks within their own waters, four states — Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and North Carolina — have already closed their river herring fisheries.
The amendment requires states to implement fisheries-dependent and independent monitoring programs.
In recognition of limited state resources, the required monitoring will be identical to monitoring for American shad, a species closely related to river herring, so that monitoring can be conducted concurrently with current efforts.
However, some question how clearly the ASMFC recognizes just how limited the state's resources are.
Tom Fote of the Jersey Coast Anglers Association and one of New Jersey's representatives to the the ASMFC, questioned whether the division would be able to do anything given its heavy workload and lack of resources.
"What are they going to be able to do if f they don't have the resources to prove that we can sustain the runs. There's no money to do those plans, to do the research," Fote said.
(3 of 3)
River herring stocks are a multi-jurisdictional resource occurring in rivers and coastal and ocean waters. While oversight of river herring management in state waters lies with the ASMFC, river herring can be encountered in ocean fisheries beyond the states' jurisdiction.
Part of the blame for the decline in river herring populations is attributed to bycatch of river herring in small mesh fisheries. Preliminary analyses indicate that, in some years, the total bycatch of river herring by the Atlantic herring fleet alone could be equal to the total landings from the entire in-river directed fishery on the East Coast. But that information doesn't help New Jersey avoid the closure.
So once again, it looks like recreational fishermen will be the ones to take in on the chin.
If the state can't submit a plan, there's no doubt the fishery will be closed. And if the fishery is closed, anglers who fish for herring for bait for striped bass will be locked out. And those who cherish the herring run and big bass that followed will certainly suffer.
http://www.app.com/article/20090717/OPINION05/907170340/N.J.+herring+fishery+faces+closure
N.J. herring fishery faces closure
July 17, 2009
It's going to take a a miracle to keep New Jersey's river herring fishery open past 2012.
In May, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) approved Amendment 2 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for shad and river herring. The amendment prohibits commercial or recreational fishing in state waters as of January 1, 2012, unless a state develops and submits for approval a sustainable management plan by January 1, 2010. The plan must be accepted for the fishery to remain open.
The amendment defines a sustainable fishery as "a commercial and/or recreational fishery that will not diminish the potential future stock reproduction and recruitment."
And therein lies the rub.
"We're right behind the big eight ball here and it's going to be difficult to come up with anything that's going to keep our fishery open," said Tom McCloy, administrator for the Marine Fisheries Administration of the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, the agency responsible for developing the plan.
"With this requirement, The ASMFC is essentially implementing a moratorium in the state of New Jersey. And the other states are in the same boat," McCloy said. "We don't have any sampling programs at the moment, nor have we had any, that are directed at river herring. We have other programs where we get information on river herring, but it's limited.
McCloy said the division, already pushed to the limit as far as resources go, would have to give up something in order to start focusing on river herring. And some of the those things, McCloy said, up are a little more important to New Jersey fishermen. He was speaking of summer flounder, striped bass, black sea bass, blackfish, bluefish and weakfish. The division is compelled to conduct mandatory sampling programs on those species.
"I don't want to minimize the importance of river herring, but it's not at the top of the list."
Plus, McCloy said, even if we had the wherewithal to start a sampling program, would it be enough in two years?
(2 of 3)
"The ASMFC now requires all state to prove their herring runs are sustainable in order to have a fishery, If you can't do that to the ASMFC's satisafaction, your fishery is closed," he said.
Submitted plans must clearly demonstrate that the state's river herring fisheries meet this new definition of sustainability through the development of targets which must be achieved and maintained. The plans are subject to Technical Committee review and Board approval prior to the fishing year beginning January 1, 2012.
The Board's action of Amendment 2 was taken in response to widespread concern regarding the decline of river herring stocks. While many populations of blueback herring and alewife, collectively known as river herring, are in decline or remain depressed at stable levels, lack of fishery-dependent and independent data makes it difficult to ascertain the status of river herring stocks coastwide.
Between 1985 and 2007, commercial landings of river herring decreased by 97 percent from 13.6 million pounds to 317,000 pounds. In response to declining stocks within their own waters, four states — Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and North Carolina — have already closed their river herring fisheries.
The amendment requires states to implement fisheries-dependent and independent monitoring programs.
In recognition of limited state resources, the required monitoring will be identical to monitoring for American shad, a species closely related to river herring, so that monitoring can be conducted concurrently with current efforts.
However, some question how clearly the ASMFC recognizes just how limited the state's resources are.
Tom Fote of the Jersey Coast Anglers Association and one of New Jersey's representatives to the the ASMFC, questioned whether the division would be able to do anything given its heavy workload and lack of resources.
"What are they going to be able to do if f they don't have the resources to prove that we can sustain the runs. There's no money to do those plans, to do the research," Fote said.
(3 of 3)
River herring stocks are a multi-jurisdictional resource occurring in rivers and coastal and ocean waters. While oversight of river herring management in state waters lies with the ASMFC, river herring can be encountered in ocean fisheries beyond the states' jurisdiction.
Part of the blame for the decline in river herring populations is attributed to bycatch of river herring in small mesh fisheries. Preliminary analyses indicate that, in some years, the total bycatch of river herring by the Atlantic herring fleet alone could be equal to the total landings from the entire in-river directed fishery on the East Coast. But that information doesn't help New Jersey avoid the closure.
So once again, it looks like recreational fishermen will be the ones to take in on the chin.
If the state can't submit a plan, there's no doubt the fishery will be closed. And if the fishery is closed, anglers who fish for herring for bait for striped bass will be locked out. And those who cherish the herring run and big bass that followed will certainly suffer.