by The nation’s leading marine conservation organizations have released a white paper on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) findings that its Marine Recreational Information Program – Fishing Effort Survey (MRIP-FES) may be overestimating recreational catch and effort data by 30 – 40%.
That’s not a surprising conclusion as those actually involved in the fisheries have complained about obvious discrepancies for many years which have led to overly restrictive regulations on healthy stocks. Capt. Monty Hawkins of Morning Star from Ocean City, Maryland has been particularly critical of the inflated figures for many years without making much progress until now.
Though best known for his sea bass and blackfish skills, Hawkins has also developed a specialty of dolphin fishing at areas well inshore of the canyons. Limits have been common recently.
The Golden Eagle from Belmar had lots of action and lost tuna on Monday’s 23-hour tuna trip. There were no specifics on how many tuna were caught, but they reported a large swordfish and plenty of dolphin.
A small craft advisory is up through Saturday evening. Friday’s forecast is for north winds at 20-25 knots, dropping to 15-20 in the afternoon. The offshore hurricane is sending in long period swells of 7 to 10 feet. Inlets will be rough on outgoing tide.
Tight Lines 
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