Summer flounder business as usual

[Brewlugger]

According to a release from the NJ Conservation Officers Association. On March 14 authorities received information from New York regarding a New Jersey based fishing vessel approach a second vessel off the coast of New York. After studying the vessels tracks police suspected the vessels met up to transfer fish. Authorities inspected one vessel when it landed in Point Pleasant, and discovered the vessel possessed an excess of their summer flounder bycatch limit. Since the vessel previously landed a directed amount of summer flounder earlier in the week, the vessel was only allowed to land up to 200lbs but possessed 253lbs of bycatch. Investigators contacted the other vessel at sea and landed them in Belford. The operator of the Point Pleasant vessel admitted that he gave the other vessel 750lbs of summer flounder since he had already landed his one legal trip for the week.

[AndyS]

Purpose:
The registry is an important tool that will help fishermen and policy makers work together to better account for the contributions and impacts of saltwater anglers on ocean ecosystems and coastal economies. It is part of a national overhaul of the way NOAA collects and reports recreational fishing data. The goal of the initiative - known as the Marine Recreational Information Program, or MRIP - is to provide the most accurate information possible that can be used to determine the health of fish stocks. Reliable, universally trusted data will in turn aid anglers, fisheries managers and other stakeholders in their combined efforts to effectively and fairly set the rules that will ensure the long-term sustainability of recreational fishing.

[Charlie B]

According to a release from the NJ Conservation Officers Association. On March 14 authorities received information from New York regarding a New Jersey based fishing vessel approach a second vessel off the coast of New York. After studying the vessels tracks police suspected the vessels met up to transfer fish. Authorities inspected one vessel when it landed in Point Pleasant, and discovered the vessel possessed an excess of their summer flounder bycatch limit. Since the vessel previously landed a directed amount of summer flounder earlier in the week, the vessel was only allowed to land up to 200lbs but possessed 253lbs of bycatch. Investigators contacted the other vessel at sea and landed them in Belford. The operator of the Point Pleasant vessel admitted that he gave the other vessel 750lbs of summer flounder since he had already landed his one legal trip for the week.

I just wonder how many times they did that before they were caught. And how many others are doing it now...Charlie

[tuna john]

follow the rules do your duty as an angler = commercial increase +49%
anglers status quo. Yes I'm sure this happens all the time. sad...

[dakota560]

According to a release from the NJ Conservation Officers Association. On March 14 authorities received information from New York regarding a New Jersey based fishing vessel approach a second vessel off the coast of New York. After studying the vessels tracks police suspected the vessels met up to transfer fish. Authorities inspected one vessel when it landed in Point Pleasant, and discovered the vessel possessed an excess of their summer flounder bycatch limit. Since the vessel previously landed a directed amount of summer flounder earlier in the week, the vessel was only allowed to land up to 200lbs but possessed 253lbs of bycatch. Investigators contacted the other vessel at sea and landed them in Belford. The operator of the Point Pleasant vessel admitted that he gave the other vessel 750lbs of summer flounder since he had already landed his one legal trip for the week.

So let me make sure I understand this. The Pt. Pleasant boat already weighed in their 800 lb limit earlier in the week and all they were entitled to was their by catch limit which is calculated as follows:

When the directed fishery is closed, no vessel shall land or possess any summer flounder in excess of the by-catch trip limit. By-catch landings of summer flounder may not exceed ten percent (10%) by weight,
of all species landed and sold with a maximum daily trip limit of 100 pounds from May 1 through October 31 and 200 pounds from November 1 through April 30.

So in order to qualify for a 200 lb by catch, they had to have 2,000 lbs of other species on board. Wonder what that consisted of. And assuming they did have 2,000 lbs of other fish aboard, they overshot their by catch limit of 200 lbs. by 803 lbs, the 53 excess lbs they were caught with and the 750 lbs. they offloaded to the Belford vessel. And that doesn't include dead discard. So maximum summer flounder they're allowed is 200 lbs and they only landed 400% more. Think that redefines the meaning of by-catch. At an average weight of 2 - 2.5 lbs. per fish, say good-bye to 300 - 400 summer flounder from one commercial boat on one trip. Both boats should be seized, sold at auction with the proceeds used to beef up enforcement, significant fines assessed and permits revoked.

One commercial gives another ~$4k-$5k worth of catch, think that favor won't be returned at a later date or is common practise.

THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO WERE JUST GRANTED A 40% INCREASE IN CATCH QUOTA FOR '19. The system of checks and balances is broken and while recreational get maybe two months (weather days and water temperatures considered) to harvest the summer flounder resource, commercials target them all year long which is a travesty while abusing the resource at the recreational angler's expense.

Hats off to enforcement for catching this but if they weren't tipped off no one would have known. It happens every day at sea and the numbers go unreported. Same reason Carlos Raphael built a fishing empire for 30 years by illicit catches and illegal distributions of catch through the NY black market. A business he valued at $175 million with tens of millions of dollars made every year bypassing approved distributions channels. NMFS upgrades MRIP, a large degree which is still assumption based, in an effort to quantify recreational harvest and we get hit with a 40% penalty in '19's catch quota as a result while this behavior happens every day without repercussions. The lack of logic in fisheries management is well beyond alarming, it's reached epic levels of incompetency.

[AndyS]

And they get to keep 14 inch fish, all the rest just gets shoveled over the side.

[Brewlugger]

This story was sent to me via email from my boss. It was the Point Pleasant patch uploaded today under a police and fire heading. I did misquote that the vessel was contacted at sea. It was contacted after it landed in Belford, but the numbers and basic story is what was posted on the Patch. I tried to post a link but I'm not very well versed. If anyone can find this story please post a link if you can.

[dakota560]

[QUOTE=AndyS;527807]And they get to keep 14 inch fish, all the rest just gets shoveled over the side.[/QUOTE)

Andy even worse, they shovel the 14-inch fish overboard which are either sexually immature or just reaching sexual maturity and retain larger three to five-year sexually mature fish contributing to annual recruitment bringing greater ex-vessel prices at the docks.

[Charlie B]

Both boats should be seized, sold at auction with the proceeds used to beef up enforcement, significant fines assessed and permits revoked.

I would add some jail time...

THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO WERE JUST GRANTED A 40% INCREASE IN CATCH QUOTA FOR '19. The lack of logic in fisheries management is well beyond alarming, it's reached epic levels of incompetency.[/QUOTE]

I would look into fisheries management for kick backs and give them some jail time too if found guilty...Charlie

[Capt Sal]

Both boats should be seized, sold at auction with the proceeds used to beef up enforcement, significant fines assessed and permits revoked.

I would add some jail time...

THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO WERE JUST GRANTED A 40% INCREASE IN CATCH QUOTA FOR '19. The lack of logic in fisheries management is well beyond alarming, it's reached epic levels of incompetency.

I would look into fisheries management for kick backs and give them some jail time too if found guilty...Charlie[/QUOTE]

Exactly.We do need law enforcement for this reason.Belford pirates care only about money and nothing else. If they could they would net every striped bass in Raritan Bay.

[AndyS]

They probably got a $50.00 fine and told not to do it again.

[JeffZ]

They probably got a $50.00 fine and told not to do it again.

Wow! They upped the fines did they?
Just the cost of doing the hard,ethical, honest work of commercial fishing.

[june181901]

Sport anglers need a first class lobbyist!

[Papasown]

Why would the state allow repeat offenders to just go out and not be monitored. When the Tuna boats were killing porpoises, the Govt. mandated they have an appointed spotter on board to keep at check on them. NJ could mandate repeat offenders to have a spotter on board when they sail, at the boats expense to maintain control.

No spotter= no fishing for them.

[Brewlugger]

Why would the state allow repeat offenders to just go out and not be monitored. When the Tuna boats were killing porpoises, the Govt. mandated they have an appointed spotter on board to keep at check on them. NJ could mandate repeat offenders to have a spotter on board when they sail, at the boats expense to maintain control.

No spotter= no fishing for them.
The article did not mention whether either of these vessels were repeat offenders. As far as the state goes I don't think many legislators are aware of what's going on. It's a long running and ongoing disaster that's out of sight and out of mind. The repeat offenders are the public servants entrusted with the management of our fisheries. What they know about this is swept under the rug like a dirty secret. I wonder what the operators of these vessels think when they cruise by the Axel Carlson on a July weekend watching all the suckers trying to scratch up a couple of keepers?

[Capt. Lou]

Their probably saying we got &0% of them already !