Fishermen fear Hudson Canyon sanctuary will mean more restrictions: 'Why do we need this?'

WEST LONG BRANCH - Of great concern to the fishermen that showed up to a public scoping meeting is a guarantee that no extra regulations would be placed on their industry if the Hudson Canyon was designated a National Marine Sanctuary.

They didn't walk away with one after the meeting with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's sanctuary's staff at Monmouth University's Urban Coast Institute on Thursday. NOAA, however, was not there to make promises or make any management decisions. At this point it's just looking for public comments, the first part of a multi-year designation process.

NOAA's sanctuary staff will use the public comments then to put together a management plan for the Hudson Canyon, such as the boundaries for the sanctuary, its permitted uses and protections. If it gets to the point of a sanctuary, an advisory committee would be created where fishermen would have a seat at the table, the staff said.

The canyon is a prolific fishing ground that starts about 90 miles offshore from Manasquan Inlet and is in the crosshairs of a public debate over the sanctuary designation, which would give NOAA more leverage managing the resources of the largest submarine canyon off the Atlantic Coast.

The canyon, which draws warm-water eddies that spin off from the Gulf Stream, is an ecological wonder, supporting large schools of tuna and squids; it's a foraging ground for whales and porpoises and home to many bottom fish and curious sea creatures such as anemones, crabs, octopi, deep water corals and is dotted with shipwrecks, some dating to the 19th century.

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The canyon itself is 350 miles long, reaches depths of 2 to 2.5 miles and is up to 7.5 miles wide. It was carved out of the ocean floor thousands of years ago by the Hudson River when the area was exposed during the last glacial period. If the water was removed, the ocean floor would look a lot like the Grand Canyon.

Commercial vessels fish for tunas, squid and lobster, while the state's recreational fishing fleet of for-hire vessels continually run anglers out to the canyon to catch fresh tuna and tilefish.

"We're probably the greatest and strictest fishery management country in the world. Why do we need this extra layer on top of everything we have now?" said Jason Bahr, a seafood wholesaler and vice president of Blue Water Fisherman's Association, a trade group of commercial longline fishermen who fish for pelagic species such as tuna and swordfish in the Hudson Canyon.

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Bahr said strict regulations have had a hand in reducing the East Coast's long line fleet from 500 boats in the 1990s to 60 today.

Several federal and international regulatory bodies and acts already manage the fish species that traverse the canyon or reside there, including the Magnuson-Stevens Act, Atlantic Highly Migratory Species, the National Marine Fisheries Service, Mid-Atlantic Marine Fisheries Council and the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, or ICCAT.

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"We've taken a lot of hits. The number of party boats, charter boats has declined. So many tackle shops are closed. Right now, we're saying recreational fishing will be allowed in the canyons. But if that changes, where are we going to go? Recreational fishermen rely on that canyon," said John Toth, vice president of the Jersey Coast Anglers Association, an advocacy group for recreational fishermen.

The sanctuary program would give NOAA additional oversight of the Hudson. In the program's 40 years of existence, 13 national marine sanctuaries and two marine national monuments have been established, beginning with the wreck of the Civil War-era ironclad USS Monitor off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. However, no sanctuary is managed the same and NOAA has allowed for additional fishing regulations to protect the sea floor and cultural legacies such as shipwrecks in several sanctuaries.

The best fishermen got Thursday was assurance that fishing, both recreationally and commercially, would continue to be allowed in the canyon as it was recommended by the Wildlife Conservation Society New York Aquarium, the entity that nominated the canyon for the marine sanctuary designation in the first place in 2016.

"The nomination was clear that fisheries in the Hudson Canyon are well managed by the fishery management councils and by NOAA fisheries and should continue to be managed under those authorities. We tend to agree," said LeAnn Hogan, from the National Marine Sanctuary's eastern regional office.

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The goals of sanctuary designation would be to protect the canyon from oil, gas and mining operations, conserve its resources, promote science, education and eco-tourism and focus on maritime history and heritage.

Officials from Jenkinson's Aquarium in Point Pleasant Beach attended the meeting and put their support for the sanctuary designation on the public record.

"For us, being an aquarium at the Jersey Shore, this gives also gives us an opportunity to share with our guests and visitors from all over the world the importance of the animals that live off our coast," said Danni Logue, Jenkinson's animal welfare programming coordinator.

Congress would have to eventually vote on the sanctuary status. U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J. said he supported the designation and was in favor of the sanctuary's goals, particularly the added protection against drilling in the ocean floor.

"For decades I've been leading efforts to clean up the Atlantic Ocean and protect it from dumping and pollution, marine debris and plastics. I really think a healthy ocean is key to our region's tourism and our economy and fishing industries. I think we need to do all we can to keep our economy thriving," Pallone said.

However, Pallone said he couldn't support it "if it places additional restrictions on fishing."

The public comment period ends Aug. 8. It will be another three years or more from then before NOAA will make a decision on whether to make the canyon a sanctuary.

When Jersey Shore native Dan Radel is not reporting the news, you can find him in a college classroom where he is a history professor. Reach him @danielradelapp; 732-643-4072; dradel@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Will Hudson Canyon marine sanctuary lead to more NJ fishing regulation