July 18, 2017 — SEAFOOD NEWS — In a stunning decision to grant New Jersey’s recreational summer flounder fishery a waiver from new regulations to conserve the stock, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross has shattered a 75-year practice of honoring the scientific process of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. The letter was written to Executive Director Robert Beal and signed by Chris Oliver, Assistant Administrator NOAA Fisheries on July 11, 2017.

Oliver notes that the Atlantic Coastal Act’s compliance process rests on two criteria — whether or not New Jersey has failed to carry out its responsibility under the management plan and if so, whether the measures the state failed to implement are needed for conservation purposes of summer flounder.

Oliver further notes that if the Secretary determines that New Jersey has not been in compliance, the Act mandates that Ross declare a moratorium on that fishery.

“New Jersey makes a compelling argument that the measures it implemented this year, despite increasing catch above the harvest target, will likely reduce total summer flounder mortality in New Jersey waters to a level consistent with the overall conservation objective for the recreational fishery,” Oliver wrote.

“While there is some uncertainty about how effective the New Jersey measures will be, considering the information provided by the state, the Secretary has found that the measures are likely to be equivalent in total conservation as those required under Addendum XXVVIII. Therefore, the second criterion of the noncompliance finding is not met and it is unnecessary to implement a fishery moratorium in New Jersey waters in 2017,” Oliver wrote.

“The Commission is deeply concerned about the near‐term impact on our ability to end overfishing on the summer flounder stock as well as the longer‐term ability for the Commission to effectively conserve numerous other Atlantic coastal shared resources,” replied Commission Chair Douglas Grout of New Hampshire.

“The Commission’s finding of noncompliance was not an easy one. It included hours of Board deliberation and rigorous Technical Committee review, and represented, with the exception of New Jersey, a unanimous position of the Commission’s state members. Our decision was based on Technical Committee’s findings that New Jersey’s measures were not conservationally‐ equivalent to those measures in Addendum XXVIII and are projected to result in an additional 93,800 fish being harvested,” Grout added.

Based on the latest stock assessment information, summer flounder is currently experiencing overfishing. Spawning stock biomass has been declining since 2010 and is just 16% above the threshold.

But almost from the day Ross was confirmed as Secretary of Commerce, the political push to oppose further restrictions was underway.

On March 2, 2017, NJ governor Chris Christie “formally requested the new U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, to put a hold on severe restrictions on recreational summer flounder fishing adopted recently by a regional fisheries commission, a move that would effectively cripple the state’s fishing industry and have far-reaching impacts on the shore tourism economy,” read an announcement from NJ Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin.

On June 23, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) sent a letter to Ross asking him to consider New Jersey’s response to the ASMFC’s evaluation of the state’s compliance.

“I firmly believe that New Jersey is making every reasonable effort to chart a course forward that adequately balances conservation with the economic needs of fishermen and fishing communities, and I ask that you give the state’s approach a fair and thorough review,” said Pallone.

“New Jersey has proposed that the summer flounder size limit be decreased to 18 inches, with a 104-day fishing season and a 3 bag limit. The state is arguing that its summer flounder regulations reach conservation equivalency with federal regulations, and that its regulations will actually preserve the stock by reducing discard mortality,” Pallone told Ross.

“I respectfully request that you carefully consider the state’s arguments and technical data as you make your decision about whether to find New Jersey out of compliance. Imposing a moratorium on summer flounder fishing in New Jersey would have a devastating impact on the economies of coastal communities that rely on the recreational fishing industry in my Congressional district.

“Additionally, reaching that determination while there continue to be compelling technical and scientific reasons to question the initial decision to cut summer flounder quotas will further erode anglers’ trust in entities like ASMFC, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and other fisheries management bodies,” he wrote.

The Commission has not “imposed a moratorium” on summer flounder fishing. Their changes affect the size limit and bag limit that can be taken by the rec sector in New Jersey.

Pallone also introduced a bill in Congress H.R. 1411 titled ‘‘Transparent Summer Flounder Quotas Act’’ simply to overturn the Commission’s tighter management tools for the recreational sector in New Jersey, and to continue the more relaxed regs through 2017 and 2018.

The vast majority of fishery‐independent surveys show rapidly declining abundance. Any increase in overall mortality puts the stock at risk for further declines and increases the probability of the stock becoming overfished.

If the stock falls below the biomass threshold, the Magnuson‐Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act requires the Council to initiate a rebuilding program, which could require more restrictive management measures.

New Jersey was not the only state to be concerned about the impact of the approved measures to its recreational fishing community. Two other states submitted alternative proposals that were rejected in favor of the states equally sharing the burden of needed reductions. Those states, as well as other coastal states, implemented the approved measures in order to end overfishing and support the long‐ term conservation of the resource.

“The states have a 75‐year track record of working together to successfully manage their shared marine resources,” continued Chairman Grout.

“We are very much concerned about the short and long‐term implications of the Secretary’s decision on interstate fisheries management. Our focus moving forward will be to preserve the integrity of the Commission’s process, as established by the Atlantic Coastal Act, whereby, the states comply with the management measures we collectively agree upon. It is my fervent hope that three‐quarters of a century of cooperative management will provide a solid foundation for us to collectively move forward in achieving our vision of sustainably managing Atlantic coastal fisheries.”

The Commission is currently reviewing its options in light of Secretary Ross’s action, and the member states will meet during the Commission’s Summer Meeting in early August to discuss the implications of the Secretary’s determination on the summer flounder resource and on state/federal cooperation in fisheries management under the Atlantic Coastal Act.

Meanwhile, Commission members are working on applying a better data collection system for recreational catches that will allow a recalibration of historical catches. That information will be available in the spring of 2018. With that, a new stock assessment will be conducted in the fall of 2018 for a full suite of data to base future management decision on.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission was formed by the 15 Atlantic coastal states in 1942 for the promotion and protection of coastal fishery resources. The Commission serves as a deliberative body of the Atlantic coastal states, coordinating the conservation and management of nearshore fishery resources, including marine, shell and diadromous species.

This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.