STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 183

with Assembly Floor Amendments

(Proposed By Assemblymen GIBSON and ASSELTA)

ADOPTED: FEBRUARY 29, 1996

      This bill would amend the legal minimum size restrictions for the taking of lobster to bring them into conformance with the standards and requirements set by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) as authorized by federal law. New Jersey is a member of the ASMFC.

      The amendments would remove the authority of the Department of Environmental Protection to adopt rules and regulations providing for the taking and management of lobsters with provisions differing from, superseding, or supplementing the provisions of the current statutory law as amended by the bill. These amendments would make this bill identical to Senate Bill No. 521 (1R).