Beach Advocacy Group Objects To Fishermen Having To Show Proof Of Registration Before Using Walkway in Elberon

LONG BRANCH, NJ - For years, local fisherman have been allowed to use the Garfield Road entrance to the beach in affluent Elberon, a section of Long Branch, even though the walkway is privately owned.

But that may be coming to an end, according to a report in nj.com.

The homeowners' association there put up a sign this summer that requires fisherman to display their saltwater registration before they could fish off the jetty.

Members of the grass-roots group Citizens Opposed to Beach Restrictive Access (COBRA) say the new requirement is a burden on the fishermen by a group that has no authority to make those demands.

"Fishermen have had access there for over 20 years," said Andrew Chambarry, an attorney who assists COBRA. "It should be open to fishermen freely."

The path was a privately owned vacant lot that members of the Franklyn Tract Homeowners Association used as access to the beach.

When the homeowners on either side of the lot purchased the vacant lot about 20 years ago, they initially tried to restrict the members of the homeowners' association and fishermen from using it, but they eventually relented.

"Private Property" signs on the gates leading to the walkway were damaged over the winter, so the association last week put up the sign calling for saltwater registry proof.

The group put up the sign because of the growing concern about liability over people posing as saltwater fishermen using the private walkway.

"The association wants to protect itself," the association member said. "Society is a lot more litigious than it was."

To read the entire story, click here.

Image: Patricia A. Miller