Marinas and Fisheries Combat Ban on Dredging

The fishing community in the Port of Cape May said a ban on dredging to protect a species of flounder is outdated, since no one has been spotting the animal.

According to an article by the Press of Atlantic City, dredging is banned from Jan. 1 through May 31, to protect the essential habitat of the winter flounder.

However, owners of marinas and commercial fishing docks are fighting this ban since they say no one has seen the winter flounder in years.

The ban has also prevented some beach replenishment work in New Jersey and other marine projects during those five months.

Businesses have to do any kind of work in the area now, or wait until the end of the ban.

Jeff Reichle, for example, owns the commercial dock Lund’s Fisheries. He said in his 41 years in business he has never seen a winter flounder caught here.

“Yet we’re mapped as an area winter flounder come and lay eggs. Therefore we can’t dredge in the winter and have to dredge when the boats are in the slips, which is a huge problem for us,” Reichle told the Press of Atlantic City.

The New England Fishery Management Council manages the species and two decades ago mapped out essential fish habitat for the stocks that live in southern New England and Mid-Atlantic waters.

“We are the southernmost section of the breeding area,” said Jeff Kaelin, who handles government relations for Lund’s Fisheries and also serves on the New England Council’s Habitat Committee.

Kaelin is working on getting the map redrawn to eliminate the harbor area and move the line north.

“I’m not sure how far north the line will be drawn. Egg Harbor has blackbacks. I think we have a very good opportunity to have it changed to take into account the manmade nature of Cape May Harbor and sedimentation. The fish have not shown up in surveys for a decade or more,” said Kaelin.

In spite of protests, agencies that regulate dredging including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and N.J. Division of Fish and Wildlife followed the lead of the New England Council and enforce the dredging ban.

Larry Hajna, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said all the states signed on to the winter flounder measures. Winter flounder stocks on the East Coast have been declining for decades, a problem blamed on overfishing, climate change, and habitat changes, including those caused by dredging.

New Jersey does have a fishery for them from March 1 through Dec. 31, allowing two fish per day at a minimum size of 12 inches.