Seeking private-boat bluefin tuna anglers for focus group: Feb 6, Toms River, NJ

[JDTuna]

Originally Posted by Gerry Zagorski

The private boaters targeting school Bluefin has declined as well since the current regulations of one under and one over does not make it worthwhile for many boats to target them.

Good luck with your project.

With all due respect, I don't think this is an accurate representation at all. When bluefin do hold off NJ in the inshore/offshore areas (they really didn't this year), many boaters target them. In fact, even when the limit was just 1 per boat there were still lots of people targeting them on the inshore/offshore grounds. I have been out many times in recent years when there was a fleet of 50+ boats out there every weekend. This included both charters and private boats. The fish just passed us by as a whole last season so they weren't targeted as frequently in the past year.