This document contains the cover letter and the full petition filed with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on behalf of the Jersey Coast Anglers Association, Hudson River Fishermen’s Association, Hi-Mar Striped Bass Club, Tackle Box Fishing Company, Karen Ann Charters, My Joyce Fishing Charters, Captain Ron’s Fishermen and Moran’s Dockside.
The petitioners ask the Commerce Department to take emergency action to close the New York-New Jersey Bight to industrial menhaden reduction fishing, and to make that closure permanent from May 1 through December 31 each year. The petition lays out why the Bight matters, how menhaden support the region’s fisheries and the businesses that depend on them, and why the petitioners believe the reduction fleet’s recent activity in the Bight puts those fisheries at risk.