New Regulations for 2024

[pddmd]

The Feds are using a new "accounting" method that is supposed to help level off the drastic highs and lows of prior years. Yes the Coastwide catch is still exceeding the FMP goals. This is supposed to be a more buffered response in that they are using a several year projection as the target. I'm not sure how much I believe after we had the NMFS scientist who developed MRIP speak at our Council meeting and say it was never intended to be used this way. Falls into the "Best available science" category.
From the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council
The Percent Change Approach requires a 28% reduction in recreational harvest of summer flounder in 2024-2025. This reduction is needed because the RHL for 2024-2025{6.53 million lbs}falls below the confidence interval around projected harvest for these years, and the stock size is below the target level.

[hammer4reel]

Originally Posted by pddmd

The Feds are using a new "accounting" method that is supposed to help level off the drastic highs and lows of prior years. Yes the Coastwide catch is still exceeding the FMP goals. This is supposed to be a more buffered response in that they are using a several year projection as the target. I'm not sure how much I believe after we had the NMFS scientist who developed MRIP speak at our Council meeting and say it was never intended to be used this way. Falls into the "Best available science" category.
From the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council
The Percent Change Approach requires a 28% reduction in recreational harvest of summer flounder in 2024-2025. This reduction is needed because the RHL for 2024-2025{6.53 million lbs}falls below the confidence interval around projected harvest for these years, and the stock size is below the target level.

Pat with a lot of research showing a NE movement of fluke yearly . Why are they allowing such huge commercial landings in NC still . Even after shutting down the recreational fishery to a 2 week season last year ?

I would think they should be looking at lower recruitment coming from southern waters that eventually should end up here in NJ .
If they continue that interest due to all the major cutting houses there it has to effect our fishery here .

.

[Broad Bill]

Originally Posted by pddmd

The Feds are using a new "accounting" method that is supposed to help level off the drastic highs and lows of prior years. Yes the Coastwide catch is still exceeding the FMP goals. This is supposed to be a more buffered response in that they are using a several year projection as the target. I'm not sure how much I believe after we had the NMFS scientist who developed MRIP speak at our Council meeting and say it was never intended to be used this way. Falls into the "Best available science" category.
From the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council
The Percent Change Approach requires a 28% reduction in recreational harvest of summer flounder in 2024-2025. This reduction is needed because the RHL for 2024-2025{6.53 million lbs}falls below the confidence interval around projected harvest for these years, and the stock size is below the target level.

Pat, thanks for your input. The reality is NMFS doesn't really know and probably will never accurately be able to quantify annual recruitment, actual recreational catch, landings or discard mortality percentages, and fails to acknowledge the extensive levels of waste involved in commercial fishing which they admit carries a staggering 80% mortality rate. How many fluke and other species are killed in the process of culling through their catch to retain only those fish bringing the highest market values. The numbers are staggering. I'd bet commercial discard mortality exceeds their entire landings quota for the season. In the link Hammer posted, no changes are in store for commercial measures meaning keep annihilating the stock during the spawn. The fishery will never rebound for that reason alone.

NC and Va. have 50% of the commercial quota and harvest those fish from our local waters almost exclusively in the fall / winter months. They destroyed the southern Chesapeake stock following that profile and will do the same to the Southern New England / Mid-Atlantic stock.

New Jersey's slot has nothing to do with this overall coast wide reduction. If NMFS allows a 100% increase in commercial quota between 2017 and 2018 and four years later in 2022 changes its position because catch is exceeding FMP goals, you have to question why those catch levels were put in place in the first place. It paints a clear picture of an out of control process with decisions being made on bogus and volatile data.

When you peel back all the layers of the onion, the only way any salt water fishery sustains itself is if annual recruitment outpaces annual fishing related and natural mortality levels. As long as the breeding population remains the target of harvest due to idiotic regulations which targets those age classes and the spawn remains at risk every year due to commercial netting, this fishery will be in the same tailspin it's been in for the last twenty or more years.

[Broad Bill]

Originally Posted by hammer4reel

Pat with a lot of research showing a NE movement of fluke yearly . Why are they allowing such huge commercial landings in NC still . Even after shutting down the recreational fishery to a 2 week season last year ?

I would think they should be looking at lower recruitment coming from southern waters that eventually should end up here in NJ .
If they continue that interest due to all the major cutting houses there it has to effect our fishery here .

.

Easy answer, someone's bank account is being lined. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

More relevant question is why is NC allowed to harvest almost their entire commercial quota during the winter months? This stock is pounded year round and in the winter they're at their most concentrated level offshore and most vulnerable to netting. It's also the reason discard mortality rates are off the charts. Commercials aren't traveling 70 miles each way to keep 14" lesser value fish but those fish come up in the same nets as the more valuable catch and are shoveled back overboard dead.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Originally Posted by hammer4reel

According to articals being written . These cuts were based on over fishing occurring in 2022.
That stock assessment said we couldn’t continue fishing with current regulations as it would not allow the biomass to rebuild as suggested .


It’s all intertwined together .

.

But it does not appear that it’s a NJ only problem caused by the slot regulations.

[Broad Bill]

Originally Posted by Gerry Zagorski

But it does not appear that it’s a NJ only problem caused by the slot regulations.

It's interesting this is how the models work. The recreational sector will be penalized because of the slot for higher discard mortality rates but won't benefit from the fact more mega breeders, fish over 18", predominantly females with significantly greater egg production capacity or fecundity are being released and the positive impacts that will have on a sustainable spawning stock and promoting future recruitment levels. Benefits which will only occur if these fish we release every year aren't mopped up by the commercials during their migration and wintering offshore. Door swings both ways but not in the case of the models being used.

[hammer4reel]

Originally Posted by Broad Bill

It's interesting this is how the models work. The recreational sector will be penalized because of the slot for higher discard mortality rates but won't benefit from the fact more mega breeders, fish over 18", predominantly females with significantly greater egg production capacity or fecundity are being released and the positive impacts that will have on a sustainable spawning stock and promoting future recruitment levels. Benefits which will only occur if these fish we release every year aren't mopped up by the commercials during their migration and wintering offshore. Door swings both ways but not in the case of the models being used.

Exactly
We get hit it both sides . Fish are not available in huge sections of the long seasons .
Yet we are penalized as though they are .

Commercial guys end up with their nets full of the better fish we throw back Oceanside .

And as I said in other posts , ALL. Was done to go to a 17” fish instead of leaving it alone at 3 over 17 1/2”

And IMO to loose what we did for that extra 1/2” hurt us way more than helped us .

On my boat 99% of the slot fish were between 17 1/2 and 17.99 , we had very few 17” fish .

.

[hartattack]

Tired of carping about how Fisheries Managers are out of their mind??
Apply for Appointment to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council​
Submit Your Application by January 22, 2024​
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA NMFS) provided notice of the 2024 request for nominations for At-large members to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (“MAFMC” or “the Council”) is one of eight regional fishery management councils to manage fisheries within the U.S. federal waters. MAFMC consists of the states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. There are two At-large seats with expiring terms that may be filled by individuals from any constituent state.

The Council develops fishery management plans and recommends management measures to ensure the long-term sustainability of Mid-Atlantic fisheries. Specific responsibilities of the Council include:​

Developing and amending fishery management plans for approval/implementation by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on behalf of the Secretary of Commerce;
Setting annual catch limits and management measures based on the best available science;
Developing research priorities with scientists and stakeholder/industry partners; and
Conducting public hearings and gathering public input on proposed fishery management actions.
DEC is seeking individuals who, by reason of their occupational or other experience, scientific expertise, or training, are knowledgeable regarding the conservation and management, or the commercial or recreational harvest of the fishery resources of the Mid-Atlantic Region. You must be a New York resident to be considered for an Obligatory seat, whereas At-Large appointments may be residents of another constituent state (New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina). Additionally, individuals who are federal registered lobbyists will not be appointed as Council members.

If you are interested in being considered for nomination on behalf of New York State as an At-Large member on the Council, your application must include:​

your full name, address, email, and phone number;
a statement that explains why you want to be a Council member;
a completed resume noting how you are knowledgeable regarding the conservation and management of the fishery resources of the geographical area concerned and that details:
your fisheries background and experience, including information about your personal fisheries-related education;
members are categorized as coming from the commercial fishing sector, recreational fishing sector, or “other” sector. The “other” sector consists of members with knowledge of and experience in biological, economic, or social sciences; environmental or ecological matters; consumer affairs; and associated fields.
information concerning awards;
a list of committee, board, or commission memberships;
authorship of publications;
other related qualifications and interests;
a statement of your guiding philosophy on the conservation and management of living marine resources; and
information on whether you have attended previous federal/state fisheries meetings and/or public hearings.
NMFS has additional information on their website available including the Application kit (PDF).

Individuals selected for nomination will need to provide additional information, which includes the formal NOAA NMFS application and financial disclosures in accordance with Section 302(j) of the Act and financial disclosure regulations at 50 CFR 600.235. NOAA will also conduct background investigations on the nominees that are selected to serve on a Council. An individual’s appointment to the Council will be conditional until their background investigation has been favorably adjudicated.

If you are interested in being considered for nomination as an At-Large member on the Council, please submit an application to LegislativeAffairs@dec.ny.gov by January 22, 2024. Please include “[NAME]: MAFMC Materials for Consideration” in the subject line. If you have any questions, please email LegislativeAffairs@dec.ny.gov with “MAFMC APPLICATION QUESTION” in the subject line.
​

[baseballman]

Brutal on all fronts, but a two fluke bag limit would be an absolute crime. And to think that I am the sucker for throwing back dozens more fish than I keep every year instead of killing my limit+ every time out.

It is just very hard to make sense of changes in recent years. They are not data-driven, nor do they match the reality of the fisheries they are designed to protect. If they were, sea bass would be a 15+ limit at both peaks with no true closed season.

And has there ever been a bigger non-emergency than Striped Bass in NJ waters? Fishing in all size classes in excellent...and we're being punished for years of our hillbilly southern neighbors continuing their trophy season while our local population thrives.