RESOLUTION #2006-176

WHEREAS, summer flounder is one of the most economically and socially important fish targeted by recreational anglers from Massachusetts to North Carolina; and

WHEREAS, the economic impact generated from expenditures including bait sales, tackle sales, rods/reels, boat fuel sales and other fishing business makes summer flounder critically important to coastal economies; and

WHEREAS, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the nation’s primary legislation that dictates how to manage our Federal fisheries, requires that over-fished stocks be rebuilt in 10 years; and

WHEREAS, there is very little flexibility attached to this time frame; and

WHEREAS, the rebuilding schedule does not take into account other uncertainties and variables such as environmental conditions, ecological factors, predation, and loss of habitat all of which influence the size a stock can grow to; and

WHEREAS, the summer flounder population has been rebuilt to the highest biomass ever recorded, yet Magnuson-Stevens dictates it must continue to be rebuilt and it must be done by January 1, 2010; and

WHEREAS, an amendment to the Magnuson-Stevens Act to add flexibility in the rebuilding requirements would allow managers to extend the rebuilding period while assuring that conservation and rebuilding continues; and

WHEREAS, communities such as Beach Haven derive significant socio-economic benefits from the recreational and commercial fluke fishery; and

WHEREAS, party and charter boats, marinas, tackle and bait stores, tournament operators and the public in general, all derive benefits from the fluke fishery; and

WHEREAS, recreational salt water fishing is a family-oriented activity that is an integral part of the Jersey Shore experience; and

WHEREAS, recreational salt water fishing is an important component of Beach Haven’s tourism economy with numerous small family businesses, including hotels, motels and restaurants, supporting fishing activities.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Commissioners of the Borough of Beach Haven, County of Ocean and State of New Jersey, that it strongly opposes the imposition of the fluke quota and does hereby request that legislators allow for more flexibility in the ten-year rebuilding requirement for recovered stocks in the Magnuson-Stevens Act, remove language that requires that over-fishing be ended in two years and move to fund an independent science program to investigate the validity of the current rebuilding targets for summer flounder; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Municipal Clerk is hereby directed to forward a certified copy of this Resolution, upon adoption, to President George Bush; Representatives James Saxton and Wayne Gilchrest; Governor Jon Corzine; all Ocean County legislators; the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the Governing Bodies of all Ocean County municipalities.

Meeting of September 11, 2006