Quote Originally Posted by njdiver View Post
1. “The best thing about yesterday (Wednesday) was that finally, the MAFMC is paying attention to what the Sport Fish Restoration Funds are all about,” said Grimbilas. Grimbilas was referring to the fact that a good portion of the funding for artificial reefs comes from the Sport Fish Restoration Fund, which is to be used to support recreational fishing.

Grimbilas said that Dr. John Organ, chief of the fund, has repeatedly warned states that they can’t continue to take funds for reefs that benefit commercial interests.


“It just so important that Delaware gets their way because we’re (New Jersey) going to be following right on their shirt tails. “We’re going to be asking for the same things for the same reasons,” Grimbilas said.

Grimbilas said that New Jersey already got it hand slapped for not requesting SMZ status earlier. The state’s funding from the federal government has been put on hold until it resolves the issue of commercial use of its artificial reefs.

“Delaware was smart enough to request SMZs and because they had the wheels rolling, U.S. Fish and Wildlife didn’t cut the funding,” he said.
The request for SMZ status for New Jersey’s reefs won’t be too far in the future. Grimbilas believes DEP Commissioner Bob Martin will be making the request once a proposal can be crafted that will be acceptable to all the parties involved.





2. Also on Wednesday, the MAFMC approved the Scientific and Statistical Committee’s recommendation to increase the 2013 black sea bass quota by one million pounds. Discussion of the black sea bass quota will continue at next week’s meeting of the ASMFC Winter Meeting in Virginia.


http://www.app.com/article/20130214/...Delaware-reefs




I was at a flea market on Sat and some of the old timers were talking about this.
I know this has been a controversial issue for some years now.

It's good to hear about the increase in sea bass quota as well. Anglers are grumbling about the closures are saying there are good numbers of sea bass out there and don't understand why these closures are necessary.
As always, thanks for your reports NJDiver.