Sea Bass Options Update and Survey
 

JCAA ALERT - SEABASS REGULATORY UPDATE AND SURVEY
by Paul Haertel

The bad news is that although New Jersey expected to receive a 20% liberalization, regarding our sea bass regulations, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) decided to give a 27% increase to states to our north and a 16.5 % increase to states to our south, leaving NJ with what is left over. Depending on exactly what regulations the other states develop, that should allow us to liberalize by 15-17%.
The good news is that even a 15-17% increase will result in a very significant liberalization to our regulations. Our Bureau of Marine Fisheries (NJBMF) is working on a range of options that must first be approved by the ASMFC. Then they will be reviewed by the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council’s (NJMFC) sea bass advisors committee, which will whittle the options down to just a few which will be made available to the public. Finally, the public will have a chance to comment on these options at the NJMFC’s meeting on March 26th. Upon conclusion of the public comment period, the council will vote on which option will become law for both 2026 and 2027. In the meantime, the NJDEP Fish & Wildlife and the NJMFC are interested in input from the public on possible sea bass measures for 2026. Those interested may take the survey below to provide general guidance regarding the regulations. The chart below includes samples of options that may be approved. However, they are likely to be tweaked or modified and a couple more similar options may be developed. Option 1A would allow the one fish limit to begin on 6/22 and run into September with the possibility of the ten fish bag limit season beginning later that month, perhaps even while fluke season is still open. That option would allow the season to be open for 43 more days than last year, 26 one fish days and 17 ten fish days. Option 2A would allow for a two fish limit from 7/1-9/15. There would be a ten-day closure at the end of June and a two-week closure at the end of September before the ten fish season opens on 10/1. Option 2B would allow for two fish from 6/22-9/6. There would be no closure in June but then the season would close for more than three weeks in September. Options 2A and 2 B would allow the season to be open 19 more days than last year. There is a comment section in the survey. You may want to state whether you prefer the one fish or two fish option and whether it is more important for you to extend the season further into June or extend it into September. You may simply indicate your preferred option number or make any other suggestions that you have.

Please complete the 2026 BSB Measures form only once.
Those without internet access may request a paper copy by calling the Marine Resources Administration at 609-748-2020.
Submissions must be received by 11:59 p.m. on March 11, 2026, in order to be considered.

The following chart includes SAMPLES of a couple of the options which will likely be tweaked or modified further. Additional options may be developed from these as well.

Run Name SEASON 1 SEASON 2 SEASON 3 SEASON 4 Total Extra Days Open
NJ Current Regulations Date 5/17-6/19 7/1-8/31 10/1-10/31 11/1-12/31
Bag 10 1 10 15
1.A Date 5/15-6/21 6/22-9/17 9/18-10/31 11/1-12/31 43
Bag 10 1 10 15
2.A Date 5/15-6/21 7/1-9/15 10/1-10/31 11/1-12/31 19
Bag 10 2 10 15
2.B Date 5/15-6/21 6/22-9/6 10/1-10/31 11/1-12/31 19
Bag 10 2 10 15

https://forms.office.com/Pages/Respo...ce=govdelivery

Re: Sea Bass Options Update and Survey
 

Typical bullshit .
Nj never fights for its shares of the fisheries .

Why they would push a 1-2 fish limit when many are fishing , with a 15 fish bag limit when way less are is just stupid .

Increase the bag limit during fluke seasons to 3-4 fish and let kids keep what they catch instead of throwing them back all day .

Actually promoting future generations of fisherman .

Instead of pushing all the quota into a two month time that also has a lot of other stuff to fish for .

Keep a 10 fish bag limit for those 2 months , no need for it to go to 15



I would say the reason other states recieved more quota , is their minimum size limit is much larger than ours . Most over 16” So their actual amount of fish kept is much less

Re: Sea Bass Options Update and Survey
 

I like watching 30 boats fighting over a single rock pile when the seasons opens for 12-inch fish that gets picked over in a day.
If I had it my way JANUARY and FRBRUARY would be open with a bag limit of 25 like the old days. 5-pound knuckleheads with a smattering of dinner plate sized porgies with cod, pollock, and hake.

Re: Sea Bass Options Update and Survey
 

I get where you are coming from.. Problem is, January and February is for die hards with the money, time, and desire to run offshore in high winds and 20 degree temps, leaving the average Joe out of the loop when he takes his kids out in the summer.. Its a tough call of course, but I would rather have a few more fish to keep in spring and summer when the vast majority of people are out fishing.

Re: Sea Bass Options Update and Survey
 

Then have both, open the offshore fishery again. I mean how much is the public really putting a dent on the offshore fishery, maybe 4 or 5 head boats, combine that with a weather window and we are hardly scratching the surface.

Re: Sea Bass Options Update and Survey
 

Run Name SEASON 1 SEASON 2 SEASON 3 SEASON 4 Total Extra Days Open
NJ Current Regulations Date 5/17-6/19 7/1-8/31 10/1-10/31 11/1-12/31
Bag 10 1 10 15
1.A Date 5/15-6/21 6/22-9/17 9/18-10/31 11/1-12/31 43
Bag 10 1 10 15
2.A Date 5/15-6/21 7/1-9/15 10/1-10/31 11/1-12/31 19
Bag 10 2 10 15
2.B Date 5/15-6/21 6/22-9/6 10/1-10/31 11/1-12/31 19
Bag 10 2 10 15

https://forms.office.com/Pages/Respo...ce=govdelivery[/QUOTE]

Something must be wrong with my brain, but I can't make heads nor tails of this.

Re: Sea Bass Options Update and Survey
 

Season breakdown , approx 4 sections with dates .
Bag limit in order of each section

Re: Sea Bass Options Update and Survey
 

In response to Dan's comments and questions:
Nj never fights for its shares of the fisheries .
NJ does fight very hard for our fishermen, particularly Adam Nowalsky, who is one of our representatives on the ASMFC. Our state even went out of compliance regarding the fluke issue a number of years ago and the Secretary of Commerce sided with us. The real problem is that is some cases like fluke and sea bass we are in our own region. States to our north and south sometimes band together against us.

Why they would push a 1-2 fish limit when many are fishing , with a 15 fish bag limit when way less are is just stupid .

Increase the bag limit during fluke seasons to 3-4 fish and let kids keep what they catch instead of throwing them back all day .
You pretty much answered your own question. There are so many people fishing and so many sea bass available in the summer that if we went to 3 or more fish it would eat up much of our quota. That would make things tougher in the spring and fall particularly for the for-hire fleet because there would be little else to fish for.


Actually promoting future generations of fisherman .

Instead of pushing all the quota into a two month time that also has a lot of other stuff to fish for .

Keep a 10 fish bag limit for those 2 months , no need for it to go to 15
The for-hire fleet has to run far offshore during November and December. Those trips are expensive so to sell their trips they need the 15 fish limit. It’s also important to note that reducing the bag limit to 10 would only give us a couple extra days during the rest of the season.

Lastly the chart did not paste as good I had hoped on my post. I do not have the technical ability to correct that.

Paul H.

Re: Sea Bass Options Update and Survey
 

Paul I’m not saying Adam doesn’t try . I’m saying the actual state of Nj doesn’t do crap to fight for our fisheries like other states do for their sportsman . We live in a State that doesn’t seem to care about the impacts shortened seasons cause .
Our council gets handed what ever scraps is left after other states fight for more .
then they have a thankless job to try and make the best of what’s given .


Reading what pat wrote percentage wise of the summer increase as spit out by the model would increase catch 7% . And sure more guys are fishing then , but most sea bass caught then are bycatch , where even 2 an angler would benifit those fishing throughout the state . So if going to 2 fish make the Nov/Dec fishery 12 fish etc , as your targeting bigger fish if making those runs . And 12 bigger fish would still get people out for them .

And the late season won’t get as much attention as I said with stripers and tog running the inshore game .

We have lost so much of our fisheries and bag limits in the last 15 years it’s ridiculous.
Especially sea bass which used to be a year long fishery at 25 fish per person daily .

Re: Sea Bass Options Update and Survey
 

Now I gotcha Dan. I just want to make it clear though, that our BMF is a bunch of dedicated people who do their absolute best for us. The problem is that they are understaffed and underfunded. The funding our BMF receives pales in comparison to other states, particularly when you take into consideration how many fishermen we have. That's the only reason why other states can do more for their fishermen. Paul H.

Re: Sea Bass Options Update and Survey
 

Paul you feel like you had a "Gotcha moment" when you said to Dan "the problem is BMF is understaffed and underfunded" in reply to his comment "the state of NJ doesn’t do crap to fight for our fisheries like other states do for their sportsman." Aren't you both saying the same thing differently? Whose fault is it that BMF is understaffed and underfunded? And are you implying all other states are properly staffed and funded except New Jersey as I'd find that highly improbable in this day and age. If New Jersey recognized the importance of recreational spend on our economy as they should, wouldn't the state properly fund and staff BMF?

From your exchanges, other states have figured it out, why in your opinion hasn't New Jersey. The squeaky wheel gets the oil, may BMF hasn't squeaked enough. And please don't say it has anything to do with the size of New Jersey, on a per capita basis we fish and contribute more to the economy than many states combined.

Re: Sea Bass Options Update and Survey
 

Paul in replying to my question, keep the following in mind.

New Jersey recreational fishing is a national leader in economic impact, generating over $2 billion annually with roughly 1 million+ anglers, consistently ranking among top states for expenditures and participation. While specific per capita rankings vary, it is a premier coastal hub, heavily driven by marine activity.

So again I ask the same question, why or how is BFM in your opinion underfunded and understaffed and more importantly what can or has been done to address that problem. You've been the President and I believe still are an active Board Member of the states largest recreational salt water advocacy group JCAA, why does the problem you pointed to exist and more importantly how does that problem get resolved?

And the problem to be clear is the spend by the recreational community is there in abundance, the apportionment of that spend to the recreational community isn't. What's the answer in your opinion?

Re: Sea Bass Options Update and Survey
 

IMO too many sportsman in Nj actually think we have a large voice here .
WE DONT

less than 1 percent hunt
less than 1 percent freshwater fish

While there is a possibility that 5 % fish Oceanside which IF we had an actual Salt water license we would know better , as the accounting using the registry doesn’t account for many who only fish on charter or head boats .

So to politicians here it’s not worth their efforts to chase money that only supports that super small percentage of it’s residents.

Until those who enjoy the outdoors figure out how to have a louder voice there won’t be any change in thinking higher up .

Our reef program is a classic example. No funding except paying its director who now has to wear many other hats in the fisheries work .
Only deployments are through donations . Yet the reefs really add to our fishery here .
ITS SAD that we as a coastal state don’t fo everything we can to improve what we have .
Many one time world class fisheries on the brink of being lost . Because too few people understand what we have , and care about its future .

Economic impact from our fisheries probably affects less than 7% of the state overall , between hotels , gas , food , tackle .
Still a drop in the bucket .

.

.

Re: Sea Bass Options Update and Survey
 

Last question and I'll leave it to you guys to discuss. If your statement about angler or hunter participation is true, how does NJ generate over $2 billion and rank in the top states in spend and participation annually from recreational fishing activities. One of the national leaders. A weekend fishing the Jersey shore from any inlet in our area by "private" boats, not party and charter boats, seems a whole lot more than 5%. You know as well as I at times it's an absolute parking lot out there during summer months.

Re: Sea Bass Options Update and Survey
 

You’re a numbers guy 9.5 million residents .
72,000 hunting license sales
130,000 fresh water license sales
117,000 in saltwater registry , though they say 500k to 1 million may fish in the salt via charters and head boats .

Re: Sea Bass Options Update and Survey
 

If I didn't know better, I'd say that almost sounds like a backhanded compliment. I'm an analytical guy who basis his opinions and conclusions on facts and what I see with my own eyes. In the event you weren't aware, calling someone a numbers guy is typically viewed as a condescending comment. I think I've proven I'm a lot more than that even though you might believe otherwise.

Re: Sea Bass Options Update and Survey
 

No disrespect was intended .
those are the actual numbers . For you to actually see how small a percentage of NJ Population we actually are

Economic impact is across the board for inclusions of everyone effected by us going out to fish .not just by Nj residents but all those who head to fish our waters from other states .

.

Re: Sea Bass Options Update and Survey
 

Those are good questions and although we have tried, most politicians have other priorities and are not particularly concerned about fishermen and hunters. Many of today's fishermen don't get involved with management issues or even belong to a club. Other organizations that helped fishermen have gone by the wayside and JCAA won't be far behind if we don't get more people involved. i suppose the only solution is to get more people and clubs involved and fight together on issues we agree on. If you have any ideas on how to do that, please let me know.

Paul Haertel

Re: Sea Bass Options Update and Survey
 

Hi Paul
We met many times while I was working with SSFFF and RFA NJ. Agree not enough anglers involved! Facebook is the enemy! Don't have the answer but been there done things and yet I believe the audience is result driven and no matter what group, we try but cant satisfy them all. Please keep up the fight.

Re: Sea Bass Options Update and Survey
 

I think there are many more involved than there used to be.. This is due in large part to technology more easily allowing people to get information and participate in the meetings being held online now.

More importantly, they're getting involved sooner in the process. The only time most people used to get involved was at the State level meetings after the most important decisions like quotas had already been decided.

I certainly think more should get involved and maybe since we finally got a win, people will feel they can make a difference whereas in the past they thought it was futile.

Another part of the problem we have is these fisheries management issues can be complex and even boring to some. I like to read fishing reports but I'll pass on these sorts of posts. When we type this stuff up I sometimes feel people rolling their eyes. Oh here goes Gerry, Dave, Paul or Hutch again.

I'm not going to let that deter me and in the mean time, if just a few more people get involved and informed, it's worth it.