By Jon Hurdle, NJ Spotlight
An undersea canyon 100 miles from the Statue of Liberty could become a national marine sanctuary if a federal proposal becomes a reality, but New Jersey’s fishing community fears that the designation could lead to more regulation that will hinder their livelihoods.
Federal officials say they are not planning to add new rules to cover the ecologically important Hudson Canyon, and that fishing there would still be allowed under the plan to designate the area a protected sanctuary, as it is in almost all of the 15 sanctuaries that already exist off the U.S. coast.
But representatives of commercial and recreational fishing don’t trust the assurances that their access to the area would not be curbed if the sanctuary is created.
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“We’re being given assurances that we will be able to fish commercially and recreationally in the canyon but that could change,” said John Toth, president of the Jersey Coast Anglers Association, a recreational fishing group. “Once it’s a sanctuary, they don’t have to abide by some of the regulations; they could say overnight ‘this type of fishing can’t go into the canyon.’”
Toth spoke after a public meeting last week at which federal officials outlined their plans for the canyon and heard comments that will help to inform an official report on the environmental impacts of creating a sanctuary. The two-month public-comment period ends Aug. 8, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expects to make a final decision on the proposal in two to three years’ time.
Abundant and diverse
The agency calls the two-mile-deep canyon an “ecological hotspot” because of the abundance and diversity of its marine wildlife. It says a sanctuary designation would help conserve species, habitats and cultural resources including historic connections that indigenous people have to the area.
The proposal to create a sanctuary was first made in 2016 by a group of environmental advocates including the Wildlife Conservation Society, a nongovernmental organization that manages the New York Aquarium and four zoos in the New York area.
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