Recently a movement threatening to prohibit recreational fishing in vast areas of the nation’s fishable waters, including New Jersey, has irked the fishermen as well as political leaders. Diane Wieland told that recreational anglers haul in lots of fish while enjoying area waterways. They also bring in big bucks to Cape May County.
She also said that fishing brings well over $500 million. She added that fishermen bring their families, they go out to dinner; they buy rods and reels and bait. They book charter fishing trips and they buy boats. According to her fishing is critical to Cape May County. A lot of businesses are dependent on a healthy fishing industry. U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo told a group of anglers last week that a recent federal initiative could shut down fishing.
He also told that fishing is a way of life, handed down from generation to generation and many small businesses – and jobs – depend on the fishing industry. Last year, President Barack Obama formed the Interagency Oceans Policy Task Force. The task force could, through zoning initiatives, pave the way for federal bureaucrats to permanently deny access to recreational anglers, opined LoBiondo.
Wieland said that Cape May County’s history begins with fishing. LoBiondo recently sponsored a reform bill that would allow for more flexibility in how angler’s catches are tallied. Noting that sometimes commercial and recreational anglers butt heads over allotment and gear issues.
