The following article appeared in Shore News Today (the Gazette Newspapers) May 3, 2011
Albano Says Compromise Is Possible on Fishing Issue
Written by Mary Linehan
CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE — Protesters convened at the local offices of Assemblyman Nelson Albano for the third week in a row, urging the legislator to push a bill banning pots from artificial reefs through committee to an Assembly vote. “They are not going to bully me into pushing through a piece of legislation that is not fair to all citizens,” said Albano. “The current bill is not fair to commercial guys who have been fishing through grounds for the last 25 years. I’m not going to take part in telling them to pack up and go.” Protestors say the pots, or lobster and fish traps, are preventing recreational anglers and others from using the artificial reefs, which were created with their money. For decades, New Jersey has created artificial reefs using old subway cars, demolition debris, barges and other material. There are 15 reef sites, including sites off Ocean City, Townsend Inlet, Wildwood, Cape May and another further off Cape May County called Deepwater. The reefs become homes and breeding grounds for fish, and are visited by anglers and divers seeking sea bass, blackfish, porgy and lobster. But some groups say the commercial use of the reefs is limiting the recreation access. The protests have been organized by N.J. Reef Rescue, an affiliate of the national hunting and fishing organization called the Outdoor Alliance. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 31 to 4 on March 21. The bill is not yet scheduled for hearing in the Assembly’s Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, of which Albano is chairman. The entire Assembly cannot vote on the bill until it is approved by the committee. “When the need for a piece of legislation comes up, you draft it to the best of your ability – with the information that you have available to you. This reef issue goes back a lot of years,” said Albano. “And, the bill, as drafted, is not fair – given all of the information I’ve reviewed – and, most importantly, does not meet federal requirements for reef management.” According to the lawmaker, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agency has notified the state that the bill as proposed does not comply with federal regulations on artificial reefs. So, the federal agency is suspending payments that support the state’s artificial reefs. The state’s artificial reef program is funded by the Federal Sport Fish Restoration Act, which derives its funds from an excise taxes on fishing and diving equipment; that money is returned to state natural resource agencies with the mandate that the it be used for programs, such as artificial reef management, that benefit recreational fisherman and divers. “The money isn’t gone; it is just being withheld until we have a plan that addresses pots on the reefs,” said Albano. “This is a problem that was dumped into legislators’ laps by the DEP’s failure to create a plan,” he said, referring the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the state agency charged with managing the artificial reefs programs. “The DEP neglected to do their job. The reef program has been around for some 25 years and the agency is charged with putting some kind of regulations in place to manage the reefs; to prevent conflicts; and to address the issue of pots on the reefs,” Albano said. “My feeling is that the DEP dropped the ball. This issue should have been regulated, not legislated. But, it will get done.” Albano said that the Assembly speaker sets the committee schedule. He anticipated that the matter would be before the committee before the “budget break.” According to the Assemblyman, representatives from NJ Reef Rescue, an affiliate of the national organization Outdoor Alliance; the Recreational Fishing Association; and the commercial fishing interests, represented by Garden State Seafood Association, met at his Vineland offices on April 19. “I wanted all of the interests represented, so I asked all of these groups to meet with me. The discussion was civil. I think there is room for compromise,” said Albano. The Garden State Seafood Association is a statewide organization of commercial fishermen and fishing companies, and related businesses. The Recreational Fishing Association (RFA) is a national organization that represents saltwater anglers; seeks to protect jobs in that support recreational fishing, such as marinas, boat and tackle sales; and wants to “…ensure the long term sustainability of the nation’s fisheries.” “Our group has worked with the RFA, Assemblyman Albano and Sen. [Jeff] Van Drew. There is a middle ground; this does not have to be an all or nothing solution,” said Jeff Reickle, president and owner of Lund’s Fisheries in Lower Township, and a spokesman for the Garden State Seafood Association. “We are certainly willing to compromise, although the word ‘compromise’ indicates that we are getting some kind of benefit,” said Rieckle. “We have historically fished the waters around the reefs. These have been lobster grounds for more than a hundred years. But, we don’t want to see the conflict; we are willing to accept some restrictions to commercial fishing in the area.” According to Rieckle, Reef Rescue cannot “quantify” that claims that commercial pots are overloading the reefs and preventing them from fishing. “Here’s how it works, there’s a high flyer flag attached to a line, and there’s maybe a line of 15 or 30 pots, each with 30 or 40 feet of line in between, and another high flyer at the end,” he said. Reickle said that the lines between the lobster pots or fish traps, which look identical, are weighted – as a result of federal whale protection regulations and lay across the ocean floor. “The reefs, by their nature take hooks and sinkers all the time. These are old subway cars and boats and concrete balls. There’s plenty to lose a line on. There’s no evidence that the commercial pots are creating this problem,” said Rieckle. Greg Didomenico, president of the Garden State Seafood Association, said the issue is bigger than the commercial pots and simply not addressed by the present bill. “There’s an illegal market for blackfish and that illegal market accounts for a lot of the pots on these reefs. It is a management problem,” said DiDomenico. Jim Donofrio, RFA’s founder and executive director, agreed. “The thing is this illegal market for blackfish. These fish are being illegally taken off New Jersey reefs. It is a market for live fish and it’s like gold,” he said. “There is no management on the reefs. The commercial fishermen, the lobstermen, are required to use high flyers, to mark their lines. The illegal guys are not using them. They put their gear down and ghost fish, because they can come back using GPS and use a grapple hook to grab their gear. So, there is gear all over the place creating a problem – but the gear creating the problem is illegal,” said Donofrio, who said that his group would like to see all pots banned from the reefs, but would be willing to compromise on the issue. “We need a pot management plan. Getting the pots off the reefs won’t help, because the guys fishing illegally will just keep doing what they are doing. Banning pots just kicks off the commercial guys who follow the rules,” he said. RFA does not support the bill in present form. “It doesn’t do the job. That’s what we think and that what U.S. Fish and Wildlife said in their letter. If the bill is pushed through, it will be a paper victory for Reef Rescue – but the funding will still be lost and the illegal fishery will continue,” Donofrio said. |