SENATE, No. 2323
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
210th LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 10, 2003
Sponsored by:
Senator JOHN J. MATHEUSSEN
District 4 (Camden and Gloucester)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Ciesla
SYNOPSIS
The "New Jersey Freedom to Fish Act."
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning recreational fishing in marine waters and supplementing Title 23 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the "New Jersey Freedom to Fish Act."
2. The Legislature hereby finds and declares that recreational fishing is one of the most popular outdoor sporting activities in the State; that the vast number of individuals who take to the waters of New Jersey for the purpose of recreational fishing makes a substantial contribution to the local and State economies; that, in 2001, recreational anglers fished over 10.8 million fishing days in New Jersey for a total economic output of $1.4 billion; and that recreational fishing also makes a substantial contribution to the quality of life in the State.
The Legislature also finds and declares that recreational anglers have long demonstrated a conservation ethic through their abidance with fisheries management laws and regulations including minimum size requirements, possession limits, and seasonal closures, as well as through their use of non-lethal fishing gear.
The Legislature further finds and declares that the Atlantic Ocean and its bays and estuaries are some of New Jersey's most important natural resources; that effective planning, assessment, and management in the conservation of the resources of the Atlantic Ocean and its bays and estuaries are important tools that must be utilized effectively to protect the marine environment; and that the marine environment can be adequately protected without unnecessarily closing off areas of the State's ocean waters, bays, and estuaries to recreational rod and reel anglers.
The Legislature therefore determines that it is the policy of this State to protect and promote recreational rod and reel fishing opportunities and access to the maximum extent possible; and that enactment of this legislation is necessary to ensure that both the interests of the fishing public and the interests of the marine environment are adequately protected.
3. The marine waters of the State shall not be closed to recreational rod and reel fishing unless:
a. there is a clear indication that recreational rod and reel fishing is the cause of a specific conservation problem and that less severe conservation measures, including but not limited to minimum size requirements, possession limits, or seasonal closures, will not adequately provide for conservation of the affected stocks of fish;
b. the closed area regulation includes specific measurable criteria to determine the conservation benefit of the closed area on the affected stocks of fish and provides a timetable for periodic review of the continued need for the closed area at least once every three years;
c. the closed area is no larger than that which is supported by the best available scientific information as determined by the Division of Fish and Wildlife; and
d. provisions are made to reopen the closed area to recreational rod and reel fishing whenever the basis for the closure no longer exists.
4. The Department of Environmental Protection and the Marine Fisheries Council shall incorporate the policies and requirements established by this act when implementing and administering the "Marine Fisheries Management and Commercial Fisheries Act," P.L.1979, c.199 (C.23:2B-1 et seq.), or any other law, rule, or regulation pertaining to recreational fishing in marine waters.
5. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill, entitled the "New Jersey Freedom to Fish Act," would establish as State policy the importance of keeping New Jersey's marine waters open to recreational rod and reel fishing to the maximum extent possible without causing harm to the marine environment.
Specifically, in implementing that policy, the bill would provide that marine waters would not be closed to recreational rod and reel fishing unless:
(1) there is a clear indication that recreational rod and reel fishing is the cause of a specific conservation problem and that less severe conservation measures, including but not limited to minimum size requirements, possession limits, or seasonal closures, will not adequately provide for conservation of the affected stocks of fish;
(2) the closed area regulation includes specific measurable criteria to determine the conservation benefit of the closed area on the affected stocks of fish and provides a timetable for periodic review of the continued need for the closed area at least once every three years;
(3) the closed area is no larger than that which is supported by the best available scientific information as determined by the Division of Fish and Wildlife; and
(4) provisions are made to reopen the closed area to recreational rod and reel fishing whenever the basis for the closure no longer exists.