2016 Fish and Wildlife marine recreational fishing regulation cards are in

The 2016 Fish and Wildlife marine recreational fishing regulation cards are in. The cards are provided free of charge by New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The cards provide information on the correct minimum size, possession limits and season of catch. The laminated cards are convenient to bring on any fishing outing, complete with built-in ruler measure your catch and make sure they are above the minimum size. Cards are distributed to the public by New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium.

Fish are measured from tip of snout to tip of tail, with the exception of black sea bass and sharks. No species of fish with a minimum size limits listed on the card can be filleted or cleaned at sea.

The cards also serve as a reminder to register to fish. It is free and can be done at SaltwaterRegistry.nj.gov.

For more information on what catch is safe to eat, visit FishSmartEatSmartNJ.org.

Visit NJFishandWildlife.com or njseagrant.org for more resources.

Contact: Mike Danko, mdanko@njseagrant.org

Black Sea Bass Season is starting up; Do you know about the bends?

ABOARD THE OCEAN EXPLORER, in the Atlantic Ocean east of Shark River — As a complement of anglers reeled in black sea bass from the ocean floor this summer, a New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium-assembled cadre worked to tag and release undersized fish with the bends.

Mike Danko, the NJSGC marine recreation extension agent for fisheries and boating, assembled a team consisting of two scientists from NOAA James J. Howard Marine Sciences Laboratory at Fort Hancock and from the American Littoral Society.

They were out on the 100-foot charter to identify fish with barotrauma, — commonly known as the bends — tag them and return them to the ocean floor via a descending device. More importantly, they were there to educate fisherman about barotrauma.

“We had informal discussions with approximately half of the customers on the way out to the fishing spot,” Danko said. “Slightly more than half of the people we talked with aboard the Ocean Explorer did not know what barotrauma is, but they all indicated they would be willing to use or try a descending device to increase survival rate of fish suffering from the condition.” Read More …