From Tom Fote:
"I also read a great article in today's Asbury Park Press and have included it below. I thought is was just me that had seen the difference is the way ASMFC has changed but after talking to people I realize it is not me. It really started changing with the new Executive Director came on board. The ASMFC has forgotten who it works for and its arrogance is starting to show through. JCAA will be discussing this at the next JCAA Meeting."
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Question: ASMFC head wonders who speakers at hearings truly representDirector seems to misunderstand public
by John Geiser, Asbury Park Press December 25, 2005
New Jersey fishermen have been wondering for a long time now officials of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries commission feel about them, and the current issue of the commission's Fisheries Focus spells it out.
John V. O'Shea, executive director of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, heard from a number of anglers and representatives of angling groups at the recent meeting in Galloway (NJ), and he has responded.
"Few would argue with the importance of public comment to our commission management process," he wrote. "After all, the public should have a say in what happens to them, and they should have a say in what happens to their fish. But who is the public and what is public comment?" he asked. "Who do those appearing before our management boards actually represent, and how well informed are their constituents?"
The lofty pulpit that O'Shea has thus established for himself is all too typical of those in power. He begins with condescension toward those who spoke at the hearings, and quickly questions who they are and what they know. Is it possible that the executive director of the ASMFC does not know who appears before the ASMFC boards and who they represent?
For instance, is it possible that O'Shea does not know Raymond D. Bogan, what his credentials are, and who he represents? Could he have missed the fact that Bogan was one of three who represented US interests at the International Commission for Conservation of Atlantic Tunas annual meeting in Spain only a few weeks before the ASMFC met in New Jersey? Is he unaware that Bogan is legal counsel for the United Boatmen of New Jersey and New York, that he served on the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council, that he argued the bluefish management case in Federal Count, that he is a former party and charter boat captain, that he has testified before congressional committees on fisheries, that he has participated in hundreds of meetings, hearings, conferences and debates on fisheries matters, that his family's fishing background dates back 100 years, and he is an avid recreational fisherman.
O'Shea may be unaware that James A. Donofrio, executive director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance, is a former charter boat captain, head of a national organization of thousands of members, adviser to the US ICCAT team, former employee of one of the largest manufacturers of sport fishing boats in the United States, and an avid angler.
O'Shea may wonder who Thomas P. Fote, twice a New Jersey member of the ASMFC and currently legislative chairman of the Jersey Coast Anglers Association and the New Jersey Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs, is. Fote has been a fisheries activist for more than 35 years, has testified before Congress, on fisheries matters, played a prominent role in New Jersey's striped bass game fish law, currently serves on or has been a member of hundreds of fishery, conservation and environmental panels, groups, associations and organizations. He also is an avid anglers.
There were many others with wide backgrounds in fishing who spoke at the last ASMFC board meetings. They shared their field observations, their thoughts and their beliefs about fisheries management and resources. Some represented hundreds, such as the New Jersey Beach Buggy Association, and very few spoke only for themselves. An example of public interest where the nearly 400 persons who attended the ASMFC hearing on winter flounder in Belmar last winter. Some may not have had the credentials of others, but all were passionate about recreational fishing, whether they made a living from the activity or enjoyed it for food and pleasure.
O'Shea said dozens of concerned New Jersey anglers appeared before the ASMFC management board to urge no new limits be put on the weakfish harvest. He said scientists have advised that weakfish stocks are collapsing, yet anglers urged that, because scientists cannot explain the cause for the stock decline, the impacts of fishing should be ignored. "What the speakers did not make clear was how or why continued harvest of weakfish would enhance the preservation or promote the recovery of the remaining population," he said. O'Shea made a similar case for fluke, pointing out that now one from the audience spoke in favor of the 23.5-million pound limit or other more conservative alternatives yet without it, he claimed, that the fluke stocks may not be completely rebuilt in 2010. He mentioned the rebuilding of the striped bass stocks, but not a word about the onerous winter flounder regulations, the stringent blackfish rules, or the sea bass and porgy regulations.
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