The New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife has implemented an angler survey to collect information on certain recreationally important marine finfish species.  Current data collection efforts for recreational fisheries are hindered by sampling only a small portion of the fishing public and from collecting only minimal data on discarded fish. Information collected through this voluntary survey will provide data which may support alternative management strategies that increase fishing opportunities for the public.
 
The focus of this voluntary survey is catch and effort data from fishing trips in marine and estuarine waters of the state and surrounding areas. For catch information, the state is interested in collecting information on the number and size of both kept and discarded fish.  Discard rates and length frequencies are essential when developing alternative size and bag limits such as slot limits. 
 
RFA is encouraging anglers that fish in New Jersey to participate in this project. Please note that this is a new survey, so the looks and utility of the survey page may change slightly over the coming weeks and months.  Anglers can access the survey at the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife website.  View Recreational Saltwater Angler Survey
 

RFA issued a statement to the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council supporting three distinct management zones for red snapper at their August meeting in Key Largo.  Red snapper is one of the most important recreational fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico and in the nation.  This fishery is also a major component of the Gulf tourism industry, as over 47 percent or 3.2 million anglers that fish in the Gulf are from non-coastal states.  Current management of red snapper is inefficient and severely limits recreational fishing opportunities.  Furthermore, current management of red snapper appears to violate several national standards of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.    
 

 "Discussions with recreational red snapper stakeholders also support the assertion that improvements could be made if red snapper were managed as three management units throughout the Gulf," states Jim Smarr RFA-TX Co-Chair in a written statement to the Gulf Council.  "Anglers have reported that the mean red snapper catch length frequencies vary markedly between the eastern, central and western regions of the Gulf.  Industry members also indicate the season is not compatible with actual demand, which too varies throughout the year in the Gulf.  We request the Council acknowledge these points and initiate an in depth analysis on the potential benefits of managing the red snapper as three separate stocks during the amendment process."
 

A motion to move forward with a multi-zone management approach for red snapper was tabled until their October 2008 council meeting.  During the months leading up to this meeting, Council staff and the Ad-Hoc Red Snapper committee will develop a report that will discuss the implications of incorporating three management zones. 

In a letter to Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, RFA describes the recent decrease in recreational fishing activity across the nation and questiones the current recreational data collection program's ability to accurately estimate the effort downturn.  Preliminary effort estimates in 2008 for the Gulf of Mexico show an increased number of fishing trips compared to 2007.  This is cause for alarm because the estimates are not consistent with industry records.  RFA will be closely monitoring effort estimates as they become available.   View RFA letter to Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez

Currently, the issue of "who owns the fish" is being debated by commercial and guided recreational charter boat operators.
 
In recent years, both commercial and charter harvests of Pacific Halibut, that tasty white flatfish that feels like a barn door when you're reeling it in, have increased. Since 1995, commercial harvests have increased from 33 million pounds to over 60 million pounds, and guided recreational harvests have increased from 3.8 million pounds to over 5.6 million pounds. Halibut are now considered a "fully utilized resource" which means if one group of fishermen increases their harvest then another group must take less to maintain healthy stocks...  View full text

Support Recreational Halibut fishing in Alaska