LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE REPORT

OCTOBER & NOVEMBER, 2023

1. Anyone operating a boat or on a boat less then 26 feet in length should be aware of the following NJ administrative regulation: 13:82 – 1.4 (f) “No owner or operator of a recreational vessel less than 26 feet, including rowboats, canoes, kayaks and stand up paddleboard shall permit its operation between November 1^st and May 1^st, unless each person on board such vessel is wearing a securely fastened United States Coast Guard approved wearable personal floatation device of an appropriate size while such vessel is underway. A person inside the cabin of a cabin vessel shall be exempt from this requirement.”

This regulation was recently brought to my attention and, quite truthfully, I was unaware of it. Previously the mandatory PDF requirement was to have them aboard for all aboard, and children age 12 or under had to wear them. This new cold weather requirement may have been on the books for over a year or two. I’m uncertain how vigorously the regulation is enforced, but it certainly can be enforced. Wearing a PDF is certainly a good idea, especially while navigating any of the inlets connecting to the ocean or in rough water. The regulation could cause a problem if a diver on board a boat less than 26 ft is trying to don his or her equipment while the boat is underway, unless within a cabin.

2. Danish wind developer Orsted has cancelled two major wind projects off New Jersey (Ocean Wind One and Ocean Wind Two. These two projects were to be located off Atlantic City south to northern Cape May county. The company cited supply chain issues, rising interest rates, and a New York decision not to adjust a contract for another wind project as reasons for the cancellation. Other factors that may have impacted were strong opposition from conservation groups that believe whales and other marine animals are endangered, opposition from commercial fishing, and opposition from Cape May County.

On October 17^th, Cape May County, Cape May Chamber of Commerce, Clean Ocean Action, Garden State Seafood Assn, and several other fishery and seafood organizations filed a lawsuit against the US Dept of Interior, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), and National Marine Fisheries Service for violation of the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Clean Water Act, and several other statutes.

3. Clean Ocean Action (COA) has started a petition to stop New Jersey’s reckless Ocean Industrialization by offshore wind projects. Four more projects allowing an additional 374,000 more acres of ocean, but further offshore, are now pending in response to the NJ Board of Public Utilities “Third Solicitation”. COA stressed the magnitude of the projects, fiscal and economic turmoil within the wind industry, inflation, supply chain issues, diverted taxpayer funds for bailouts, transmission grid capacity, threats to whales and other marine life (some endangered), etc. The petition would request Governor Murphy, and the NJ Board of Public Utilities to cancel the Third Solicitation and not award any additional offshore wind development contracts. Offshore wind must undergo a thorough and independent Government Accountability Office study and cost/benefit analysis; a marine mammal study, assessment, and protection plan; and an independent, comprehensive pilot study with full public review and comment.

4. The issue of narrow slots in recent fishery regulations remains a problem for the sport diver fishery. The ASMFC had restricted Striped Bass to a 28 to 31-inch slot coastwide in the Ocean and marine waters until October, 2024, and there is nothing to be done about that. There is a proposed ASMFC Striped Bass Addendum II to Amendment 7 and it looks grim. All the options require a 3-inch slot for the private recreational fishery and a possible 5-inch slot for the for hire boats. The one-inch slot for Fluke (17 to 18 inch) for two of the three allowed fish was the idea of the of the NJ Marine Fisheries Council, and could change after the ASMFC and Mid Atlantic Council take whatever action they intend for Fluke, and the NJ Marine Fisheries Council meets in January.

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   Respectfully

   Jack Fullmer

   Legislative Committee

   
   web updated: 11/29/2023 partial