May 6, 2014 — At the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council meeting last Thursday, the Council voted to approved a special pilot program that would allow anglers fishing from the sand at Island Beach State Park beach a two-fish limit of of fluke of 16 inches or greater.
The special program will only be in place at I.B.S.P. and still requires some further modifications and the final signature of Bob Martin, commissioner of the New Jersey Dept. of Environmental Protection.
Current regulations allow a for a five-fish limit at 18 inches or greater when the season opens on May 23. The pilot program is not expected to receive final approval by then.
Depending on the results, and the approval of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the program could be expanded to other New Jersey locations in 2015.
The program is expected to provide valuable catch data as the state plans to weigh in all keeper fish. This information will be compared with the data collected as part of the Marine Recreational Information Program, which has been criticized by many stakeholders as inaccurate.
The Council also voted to oppose seismic testing scheduled to begin in June off Barnegat Inlet. The testing is being done to collect data on climate and sea level changes. Groups such as Clean Ocean Action have opposed the study as the sound blasts associated with the testing are considered harmful to marine mammals and fish stocks.
Read the full story at the Asbury Park Press