B757 CREW DEP EWR CLBING TO 17000 FT AND PASSING THROUGH 11000 FT WERE ISSUED VFR TFC; A SAAB 340 AT 14500 FT. ACR CREW SAW THE SAAB AND THE SAAB SAW THE ACR.

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CLBING OUT OF EWR ENRTE TO FLL; ON THE EWR 6 DEP; APCHING WHITE INTXN; CLBING THROUGH APPROX 11000 FT; CLRED TO 17000 FT; ON COURSE. ATC CALLED OUT TFC; COMMUTER (A SAAB 340) 10 O'CLOCK; 8 MI; VFR; LEVEL 14500 FT. WE RESPONDED IN SIGHT. ACFT WAS JUST VISIBLE BECAUSE OF THE DISTANCE. THE COMMUTER ACFT WAS GIVEN OUR CLOCK POS AND CALLED US IN SIGHT. WE COULD NOT CLRLY TELL THE COMMUTER'S COURSE RELATIVE TO OURS AT THIS POINT. WE WERE NEVER TOLD TO MAINTAIN VISUAL SEPARATION BECAUSE OF A POTENTIAL CONFLICT. BUT SECONDS LATER; IT BECAME CLR WE WERE CONVERGING. WE LEVELED AT 14000 FT; BUT STILL CLRED TO 17000 FT. TCASII ALERT JUST AS WE LEVELED AT 14000 FT AND JUST PRIOR TO THE OTHER ACFT PASSING OVERHEAD. CTLR SAID; 'ACR X; RECOMMEND YOUR LEVEL AT 14000 FT.' COMMUTER ACFT BEGAN A CLB BASED ON TCASII ADVISORY. CTLR CALMLY CLRED US TO THE NEXT ENRTE FREQ (SOP?). IT SEEMED THAT THE CTLR FELT HE WAS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR SEPARATION. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE B757 RPTR SAID HE FELT THAT THE CTLR SHOULD HAVE ISSUED TFC SOONER. ALTHOUGH THE CTLR RECOMMENDED THEY LEVEL AT 14000 FT; THEY HAD ALREADY SPOTTED THE SAAB 340 AND WERE LEVELING AT 14000 FT. HE SAID IT WAS A LATE CALL. ASKED IF THEY WERE ON APCH OR CTR FREQ; THE RPTR THOUGHT HE WAS ON CTR FREQ. HE BELIEVES THEY WOULD HAVE PASSED DANGEROUSLY CLOSE IF THEY HAD NOT SEEN THE SAAB 340 WHEN THEY DID.