September 13, 2017 — STAFFORD, N.J. — A trip to Annapolis, Maryland might be what saves the 2018 New Jersey fishing season.
Saltwater anglers and their allies crowded the Stafford Township municipal chambers, where the Marine Fisheries Council held its regular Sept. 7 meeting. Although the first hour was filled with its usual reports and comments, the Council’s second hour saw passionate arguments and discussion from Council and audience members about what to do with the ever-shortening fishing season and its negative impact on commercial fishermen throughout the state and beyond.
Jim Hutchinson Jr.’s Sept. 8 article at TheFisherman.com quoted boat captain Adam Nowalsky that cuts felt in fish seasons and quotas for 2017 will be mild compared to what’s expected for 2018, based on the early returns from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries surveys. Those quotas and seasons are set annually.
Captain Victor Hartley III of Miss Ocean City explained to Jersey Shore Online that although regulations dictate what size fish may be kept, anglers must count all fish caught toward quotas.
“We don’t have enough quotas is one issue, and the other issue is we don’t have enough days,” Hartley explained. “We don’t have the time to catch anything.”