(TRENTON) – Legislation Assemblyman Bob Andrzejczak sponsored to protect New Jersey’s fishing industry from unwarranted state government interference was advanced Monday by an Assembly panel.
The bill (A-2780) would prohibit the Department of Environmental Protection from
P to adhere and defer to any fishing quota established for New Jersey by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, the National Marine Fisheries Service in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or any other federal or regional fisheries management entity, as applicable, unless a more stringent fishing quota is authorized by law.
“Our fishing industry is vital to New Jersey’s economic growth,” said Andrzejczak (D-Cape May/Cumberland/Atlantic). “It creates jobs and economic development, and it doesn’t need any unwarranted interference from state bureaucracy. This is common sense – let the experts make their decisions regarding fishing quotas, and leave it alone. Let the industry thrive on its own.”
The bill was released by the Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee chaired by Andrzejczak.