Though there was some fishable weather just before the snow, the Ocean Explorer from Belmar reported poor results while blackfishing. It appears that all the ice from the rivers and melting snow has reduced bottom water temperatures though some ling and eels were aught. They're planning on fishing deeper waters Friday and over the weekend, when the weather looks like it will cooperate. The Big Mohawk resumes blackfishing Friday and over the weekend. The Golden Eagle from Belmar looked all over for mackerel and herring last Sunday, but couldn't get any bites and will wait for any positive news before sailing again. Bob Matthews, at Fisherman's Den in Belmar Marina, reports the cold, snowy winter has been a poor one for fishing. but the shop remains open. The Canyon Runner Seminar on Sat. Jan. 27 in Atlantic City is almost sold out, Call Adam La Rosa at 732 842-6825 to determine if a ticket is still available to that valuable source of information for offshore anglers before making the trip. The N.J. Marine Fisheries Council turned down the possibility of opening a February sea bass season at last week's meeting because the catch would come out of this year's quota -- which would likely result in a few lost days when they're badly needed. They postponed their March meeting to April in order to have final information from the ASMFC before setting the seasons for fluke and sea bass. It appears that N.J, will be a region of its own for both species. Despite defying the ASMFC and staying with the 18-inch minimum on fluke, N.J. still underfished its fluke quota last year. As a result we'll probably end up with the same regulations except for a slightly later closure in September. Sea bass catches were over quota, and more cuts are anticipated even though the stock has been rebuilt to far over the target. Recreational fishermen were very well served under the Christie administration by DEP Commissioner Bob Martin, who stood up for the 18-inch fluke limit that provided at least some keepers during a poor early start to last year's fishery. We don't know what to expect yet from the new administration's choice of Catherine Mc Cabe from the federal EPA for DEP Commissioner, but the NJOA is pushing for the reappointment of Rich Boornazian as Assistant Commissioner for Natural & Historic Resources. He got high marks for his work on public access issues as well as arguing for the state's fluke position at ASMFC meetings. Though hurricane damage in the Keys was severe last year, Richard Stanczyk reports that Bud N' Mary's Marina in Islamorada (305 664-2097) has been completely rebuilt and even has a new restaurant. The inshore fishing for bonefish and snook has been very good, and his son Nick has been doing even better with the daytime swordfishing -- possibly due to an upwelling from the hurricane. NOAA Fisheries has issued voluntary restrictions for both commercial and recreational fishermen to adopt this year in order to reduce pressure on mako sharks which ICCAT has determined are being overfished. NOAA Fisheries notes: In 2017, a new shortfin mako stock assessment conducted by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas' (ICCAT's) Standing Committee on Research and Statistics found the North Atlantic shortfin mako stock to be overfished with overfishing occurring. As a result of this assessment, in November 2017, ICCAT adopted Recommendation 17-08 requiring new management measures for shortfin mako. NOAA Fisheries requests that Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) permit holders and tournaments voluntarily adopt the internationally recommended shortfin mako shark measures to decrease fishing mortality pending an upcoming emergency rulemaking. The assessment estimated shortfin mako catches would have to be significantly reduced to prevent further population declines. In 2018, ICCAT will review the catches from the first six months of 2018 and decide whether the measures contained in Recommendation 17-08 should be modified. Without the voluntary measures suggested here, in addition to any changes in an upcoming emergency rule, the reported U.S. catch data for the first half of 2018 would reflect catches under the existing management practices, and thus not reflect the true potential of the new measures at addressing overfishing. Any resulting action by ICCAT based on such incomplete information could disadvantage U.S. fishermen. Who is affected? Any commercial fisherman with HMS permits who interacts with shortfin mako sharks. Any recreational fisherman who catches or targets shortfin makoAny tournament that has a prize category for shortfin mako sharks. NOAA Fisheries has been promoting the live release of shortfin mako sharks since 2013 through the "Release Mako" app, which is a free app for mobile devices that allows fishermen to share information about releasing North Atlantic shortfin mako sharks. Commercial fishermen are asked to release all live makos , but can retain any that come up dead -- except those using non-pelagic gear (such as gillnets), who are asked to release them dead or alive. Recreational fishermen are asked to release all makos, but if those with the required HMS permit do keep one it should be at least 71 inches fork length if a male and at least 83 inches fork length if a female. This may imply that shark tournaments will be allowed to continue with the new minimums.