STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10506
IN ASSEMBLY
May 2, 2018
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ENGLEBRIGHT -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to the
taking of menhaden
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 13-0333 of the environmental conservation law,
2 subdivisions 1 and 2 as amended by chapter 427 of the laws of 1979,
3 subdivisions 3, 4 and 5 as amended and subdivisions 6, 7, 9, 10 and 11
4 as added by chapter 60 of the laws of 1997, and paragraph b of subdivi-
5 sion 4 and subdivision 8 as amended by chapter 156 of the laws of 1997,
6 is amended to read as follows:
7 § 13-0333. Menhaden; [license;] prohibited acts.
8 [1.] Menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) from which oil or meal is made,
9 subject to the provisions of section 13-0343, may not be taken from the
10 waters of the marine district with a purse seine [provided a license is
11 first obtained from the department.
12 2. Each license shall be issued to cover one vessel and pertinent
13 equipment by which such fish are taken and shall be issued in the name
14 of the owner, lessee or operator of each vessel so used. License fees
15 shall be computed on the basis of gross tonnage of the vessel to be
16 licensed as indicated in the document, certificate of award, register,
17 registration, enrollment or license of such vessel issued by the United
18 States or any state.
19 3. The license fee shall be: For each vessel:
20 30 gross tons or less 25 dollars
21 more than 30 gross tons and less than
22 200 gross tons 500 dollars
23 more than 200 gross tons 2,000 dollars
24 All licenses issued under this section shall expire on December 31
25 following date of issue.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15436-01-8
A. 10506 2
1 4. For the purpose of this chapter, commercial menhaden purse seines
2 may not be used or set:
3 a. in the area of Long Island Sound extending west of an imaginary
4 line from the New York state-Connecticut boundary line (Byram River)
5 extending easterly and southerly to buoy 13 (off Eaton's Neck).
6 b. in Long Island Sound south of a straight line one-half mile seaward
7 of a straight line between buoy 13 (off Eaton's Neck) and buoy 9 (off
8 Sound Beach).
9 Distances shall be determined from straight lines drawn between the
10 designated buoys and navigational aids.
11 5. No person shall take menhaden by purse seining except during the
12 period commencing on the Monday following the fourth day of July and
13 ending on the third Friday in October. Nothing in this subdivision
14 shall be construed as legalizing the taking of menhaden by purse seining
15 on weekends or legal holidays during the period provided for in this
16 subdivision.
17 6. The department shall, in consultation with the menhaden industry,
18 have the authority to require menhaden purse seine vessels to carry a
19 department-approved observer during their operation in New York state
20 waters. Beginning July sixth, nineteen hundred ninety-eight, the depart-
21 ment shall require menhaden purse seine vessels equal to or greater than
22 two hundred gross tons to carry a department-approved observer during
23 their operation in New York state waters. Such observers shall independ-
24 ently note and record information, as directed by the department, on
25 such items as fishing location, menhaden catch, by-catch, and any user
26 conflicts. The license holder for the vessel for which an observer is
27 required will be responsible for the costs of such observer. The
28 department shall promulgate rules and regulations to establish appropri-
29 ate procedures for the assessment and collection of costs for the
30 observers.
31 7. The operator of a menhaden purse seine vessel shall report to the
32 department twenty-four hours prior to entering the waters of the state
33 and shall submit to the department a regular and timely report of their
34 total harvest. The department shall develop regulations six months from
35 the effective date of this subdivision related to this reporting
36 requirement.
37 8. The department shall, in cooperation with the Connecticut Depart-
38 ment of Environmental Protection and consistent with the Long Island
39 Sound Bi-state committee resolution regarding commercial menhaden fish-
40 ing, undertake a water quality assessment of the effect of menhaden
41 vessel fish hold waste on Long Island Sound water quality. The depart-
42 ment shall report back within one year of the effective date of this
43 subdivision thereon to the governor, the temporary president of the
44 senate, the speaker of the assembly, and the chairmen of the senate and
45 assembly environmental conservation committees with its findings and
46 recommendations for reducing or eliminating the adverse aesthetic,
47 ecological, and water quality impacts of said discharge.
48 9. Licensees shall be legally and financially responsible for the
49 clean up of fish lost during any fishing or fish handling operations.
50 The department shall establish regulations to enforce this subdivision.
51 10. The department shall adopt regulations to prohibit or further
52 limit menhaden fishing when required by, and consistent with, the Inter-
53 state Fishery Management plan for Atlantic menhaden adopted pursuant to
54 the Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 USC 1800 et seq.) and
55 adopted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
A. 10506 3
1 11. The department, in cooperation with the Connecticut Department of
2 Environmental Protection and consistent with the Long Island Sound
3 Bi-state committee resolution regarding commercial menhaden fishing,
4 shall evaluate the appropriateness and effectiveness of establishing a
5 limit on the number of purse seine vessels that may be allowed to fish
6 on Long Island Sound. The department shall, in cooperation with the
7 Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and consistent with
8 the Long Island Sound Bi-state committee resolution regarding commercial
9 menhaden fishing, evaluate the benefits and effectiveness of establish-
10 ing a cap on the quantity of menhaden that can be harvested from Long
11 Island Sound in one year. The department shall, in consultation with the
12 menhaden fishing industry, investigate means of regulating the depth at
13 which menhaden purse seines are set with respect to the depth of the
14 water in their respective locations. The department shall, in cooper-
15 ation with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and
16 consistent with the Long Island Sound Bi-state committee resolution
17 regarding commercial menhaden fishing, provide a report of its findings
18 and recommendations thereon to the governor, the temporary president of
19 the senate, the speaker of the assembly, and the chairmen of the senate
20 and assembly environmental conservation committees within one year of
21 the effective date of this subdivision].
22 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 13-0343 of the environmental conserva-
23 tion law, as amended by chapter 546 of the laws of 1981, is amended to
24 read as follows:
25 2. In the waters of the marine district in the county of Richmond
26 purse seines may not be used to take menhaden [when operated from
27 boats]; and nets of not more than ten feet in length, operated by hand,
28 may be used to take minnows and shrimp for bait.
29 § 3. This act shall take effect January 1, 2020.