March 19, 2010 - The Atlantic City Press today reported that New Jersey shark fishermen have gotten a reprieve from the federal government with news that the state will be given more time to conform to management measures. The decision means that New Jersey's shark season can commence as normal for those who specifically target mako, thresher and blue sharks, which is exceptional news for New Jersey's struggling recreational fishing industry.

AC Press correspondent Rich Degener reported the state Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) appeal to NOAA - the parent agency of the National Marine Fisheries Service - on behalf of New Jersey's tourism industry to keep the shark fishery open was met with positive response. New Jersey had been facing a complete moratorium on shark fishing this year for being out of compliance with 22 rules governing 40 species of coastal sharks, which was essentially due to a lapse in paperwork processing through Trenton.

Amy Cradic, assistant DEP commissioner of natural and historic resources, told the Press that NOAA has given the state until July 30 to comply. She said the DEP has devised a plan to come into compliance by July 19. The plan includes filing the new rules with the Office of Administrative Law, publishing them in the New Jersey Register, hosting a public comment period and other measures.

"Overall it's good news. They accepted our action plan to come into compliance and will not impose a moratorium as long as we do it on time," Cradic said. According to the DEP, as long as all the planned deadlines for public comment and input are met, the federal fisheries service has indicated that New Jersey will not face a moratorium and the shark season can go on.

"This is great news for our coastal fishermen, particularly given the fact that the New Jersey's shark season historically gets underway just over two months from now," said Jim Donofrio, Executive Director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA). "We have thresher sharks arriving as early as May for our inshore guys and a whole host of offshore mako tournaments coming up in June and July, so the DEP has come through for our fishermen on this one," Donofrio said.

In February, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) issued a noncompliance finding for New Jersey's coastal sharks management plan which was forwarded to the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior for review. According to the RFA, the state DEP, with the support and assistance of the state Marine Fisheries Council, prepared a Marine Fisheries Regulatory Package for 2007 which had taken three years to get through the review process and was ultimately stalled on former Governor Jon Corzine's desk.

"We've been in contact with our friends at NOAA for the past 2-1/2 months in an effort to brief them on our serious administrative issues back here at home in New Jersey," Donofrio said, adding "Ever since Governor Christie has taken office, Deputy Commissioner Cradic has done a tremendous job in getting the shark portion of the regulatory package through the proper state channels and up to the folks at the federal level."

"I am pleased that NOAA's interactions with Amy Cradic and other New Jersey officials will allow the shark fishing season to open as planned," said Andrew Winer, NOAA's Director of External Affairs. "We understand that this is an important issue for anglers and tackle shops in New Jersey, and NOAA is committed to improving its relationship with the recreational fishing community by working in cooperation with state officials and organizations such as RFA."

Because of former Governor Corzine's failure to act on the package during his time in office, New Jersey had faced the very real threat of facing a damaging shutdown of its shark fishery. Expedited approval of the Marine Fisheries Regulatory Package was placed in Governor Christie's office, where the shark plan was pulled from the entire package for an emergency exemption.

"The RFA-NJ Chapter sent a letter to Gov. Christie shortly after he assumed office advising him of the need to respond to this issue," said state chapter Chairman Capt. Adam Nowalsky last month, explaining how damaging such a closure would be to the Jersey Shore economy "because of its impact on a number of very high profile shark tournaments that are held up and down New Jersey's coast in the early summer -- tournaments that help generate income for New Jersey's fishing industry."

The RFA and the RFA-NJ are grateful to the efforts of the Christie Administration and federal officials at NOAA for helping expedite the compliance efforts on behalf of New Jersey's saltwater fishermen.