March 15, 2011 - In their ongoing efforts to lobby for additional funding for New Jersey's marine fisheries, the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) and their New Jersey state chapter (RFA-NJ) testified today before the New Jersey Senate Budget Committee requesting that $3.5 million be budgeted for management of shell and marine fisheries for Fiscal Year 2012. RFA's official comments were addressed to the Chairman of the New Jersey Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Wood-Ridge), but were directed towards the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) which is responsible for managing the state's marine fisheries.
John Depersenaire, RFA's Fisheries Policy & Science Researcher, spoke before the Committee at Camden County College this morning and specifically questioned the DEP's preliminary budgetary request of less than $1 million in allocation for managing the state's saltwater fisheries. "RFA believes the FY12 requested budget of $846,000 to manage marine fisheries is inadequate. A document published by the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council in 2002, which was primarily written by DEP staff, formulated an appropriate budget of $9.45 million, yet the FY12 requested budget is less than 10% of the needed amount," he said.
While RFA is aware of the dire financial situation faced by the state and understands that cuts are being made across all sectors of state government, Depersenaire noted that recreational fishing is a thriving industry in New Jersey which helps the state realize an impressive return on investment said to be in the neighborhood of $12 in sales tax generated by every dollar invested. "What RFA cannot accept is that the budget to manage fisheries is to be reduced by 57% while the overall DEP budget is being reduced by only 9.8%," Depersenaire said.
RFA's official written comments by Jim Donofrio noted that New Jersey's recreational saltwater fishing industry is a $1.6-billion dollar industry that supports over 10,000 jobs and provides innumerable benefits to the state. "The success of the recreational fishing industry is contingent upon New Jersey complying with the 23 fishery management plans administered through the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council," Donofrio stated in his letter, explaining that New Jersey is federally required to adequately enforce, monitor, assess and regulate the provisions of the plans.
"There appears to be a significant departure from what the Bureau of Marine Fisheries says it needs in terms of funding and what DEP requests," Donofrio said, adding "administrators within the Bureau of Marine Fisheries (Bureau) and the Division of Fish and Wildlife (Division) have threatened a reduction of services and noncompliance with federal fishery management plans unless their budget is increased. They have used this fear in conjunction with the current saltwater fishing registry issue to guilt anglers into believing they are the cause for these funding problems."
RFA is a national political action organization created to protect the rights of anglers, protect marine and recreational fishing related jobs and to ensure sustainable marine resources. With the largest, dues-paying membership of any fishing organization in New Jersey, the organization has been an outspoken advocate for saltwater anglers in the state since its inception in 1996, while also representing the needs and concerns of the business community which relies on their customers having open access to the coastal resources. As RFA's Executive Director and a New Jersey native, Donofrio said the angling community has grown increasingly frustrated with the DEP bureaucracy in recent years, particularly in recent months as the Bureau and Division have used "misguided blame" as a tool for advancing their own desires to see a saltwater user fee implemented.
"RFA is troubled by this action and suggests that the Bureau and Division take their case up directly with the DEP which continues to submit a requested funding level that does not satisfy the needs of the Bureau and Division," Donofrio said, adding "RFA can only surmise this problem can be tribute to inter-bureaucracy conflicts. Unfortunately, the loser is the recreational fishing community. RFA is supporting removing the management of marine fisheries out of DEP citing this very problem," Donofrio said. Recent legislation has been authored in both the New Jersey Senate and Assembly which would transfer authority over fish and wildlife resources from the DEP to the Department of Agriculture, but Donofrio said there's been little action on this bill.
According to Capt. Adam Nowalsky, chairman of the RFA-NJ chapter, appealing for more funding before the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee is part of a commitment made a few years ago by several members of the hunting and fishing community who were all equally concerned about the decreasing budgets for management of fish and game, both inland and along the coast. "Bureau funding has not increased beyond the inflation factor since 1988, yet now there are 23 federally mandated Fisheries Management Plans with which New Jersey needs to comply," Nowalsky said, adding that New Jersey currently ranks last out of the Atlantic coastal states in per angler funding.
To view RFA's full letter visit
www.joinrfa.org/press/NJSenateBudgetFY12_RFA.pdf.
