A public hearing to discuss the proposed regulations has also been scheduled for 7 p.m. on February 20 at the Richard Stockton College , A-wing Lecture Hall, Jimmie Leeds Road in Pomona, Atlantic County. Other modifications were developed to address anglers' concerns regarding fisheries management in New Jersey, while still others were made to correct, clarify or simplify existing regulations. In addition, new aquaculture regulations are being proposed to comply with provisions of the New Jersey Aquaculture Development Act. Among the species slated for new management measures include blue crab, lobster, dogfish, striped bass, weakfish, tautog, shad, black drum, summer flounder, Atlantic croaker, scup, black sea bass, horseshoe crab and Atlantic menhaden.
Proposals also focus on statewide aquaculture practices.
Lobster regulations are proposed to provide new permits to use lobster pots for recreational fishermen, otter trawl fishermen and lobster pot fishermen with only a recent history in the fishery. Regulations are proposed to manage the black drum recreational and commercial fisheries. Summer flounder regulatory modifications are proposed to allow better quota management and to allow by-catch summer flounder to be individually frozen and landed. Regulations are proposed to manage the Atlantic croaker otter trawl fishery through a mesh size provision of 3.75 inches stretched mesh. Horseshoe crab regulations are proposed to establish a quota of 297,680 horseshoe crabs, to require weekly telephone reporting and to extend the current harvest prohibitions to include the man-made ditches between, but not including, Adlers Ditch and Riggins Ditch on the Delaware Bay.