STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2571
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 23, 2019
___________
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
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05555-04-9
A. 2571 2
1 All licenses issued under this section shall expire on December 31
2 following date of issue.
3 4. For the purpose of this chapter, commercial menhaden purse seines
4 may not be used or set:
5 a. in the area of Long Island Sound extending west of an imaginary
6 line from the New York state-Connecticut boundary line (Byram River)
7 extending easterly and southerly to buoy 13 (off Eaton's Neck).
8 b. in Long Island Sound south of a straight line one-half mile seaward
9 of a straight line between buoy 13 (off Eaton's Neck) and buoy 9 (off
10 Sound Beach).
11 Distances shall be determined from straight lines drawn between the
12 designated buoys and navigational aids.
13 5. No person shall take menhaden by purse seining except during the
14 period commencing on the Monday following the fourth day of July and
15 ending on the third Friday in October. Nothing in this subdivision
16 shall be construed as legalizing the taking of menhaden by purse seining
17 on weekends or legal holidays during the period provided for in this
18 subdivision.
19 6. The department shall, in consultation with the menhaden industry,
20 have the authority to require menhaden purse seine vessels to carry a
21 department-approved observer during their operation in New York state
22 waters. Beginning July sixth, nineteen hundred ninety-eight, the depart-
23 ment shall require menhaden purse seine vessels equal to or greater than
24 two hundred gross tons to carry a department-approved observer during
25 their operation in New York state waters. Such observers shall independ-
26 ently note and record information, as directed by the department, on
27 such items as fishing location, menhaden catch, by-catch, and any user
28 conflicts. The license holder for the vessel for which an observer is
29 required will be responsible for the costs of such observer. The
30 department shall promulgate rules and regulations to establish appropri-
31 ate procedures for the assessment and collection of costs for the
32 observers.
33 7. The operator of a menhaden purse seine vessel shall report to the
34 department twenty-four hours prior to entering the waters of the state
35 and shall submit to the department a regular and timely report of their
36 total harvest. The department shall develop regulations six months from
37 the effective date of this subdivision related to this reporting
38 requirement.
39 8. The department shall, in cooperation with the Connecticut Depart-
40 ment of Environmental Protection and consistent with the Long Island
41 Sound Bi-state committee resolution regarding commercial menhaden fish-
42 ing, undertake a water quality assessment of the effect of menhaden
43 vessel fish hold waste on Long Island Sound water quality. The depart-
44 ment shall report back within one year of the effective date of this
45 subdivision thereon to the governor, the temporary president of the
46 senate, the speaker of the assembly, and the chairmen of the senate and
47 assembly environmental conservation committees with its findings and
48 recommendations for reducing or eliminating the adverse aesthetic,
49 ecological, and water quality impacts of said discharge.
50 9. Licensees shall be legally and financially responsible for the
51 clean up of fish lost during any fishing or fish handling operations.
52 The department shall establish regulations to enforce this subdivision.
53 10. The department shall adopt regulations to prohibit or further
54 limit menhaden fishing when required by, and consistent with, the Inter-
55 state Fishery Management plan for Atlantic menhaden adopted pursuant to
A. 2571 3
1 the Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 USC 1800 et seq.) and
2 adopted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
3 11. The department, in cooperation with the Connecticut Department of
4 Environmental Protection and consistent with the Long Island Sound
5 Bi-state committee resolution regarding commercial menhaden fishing,
6 shall evaluate the appropriateness and effectiveness of establishing a
7 limit on the number of purse seine vessels that may be allowed to fish
8 on Long Island Sound. The department shall, in cooperation with the
9 Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and consistent with
10 the Long Island Sound Bi-state committee resolution regarding commercial
11 menhaden fishing, evaluate the benefits and effectiveness of establish-
12 ing a cap on the quantity of menhaden that can be harvested from Long
13 Island Sound in one year. The department shall, in consultation with the
14 menhaden fishing industry, investigate means of regulating the depth at
15 which menhaden purse seines are set with respect to the depth of the
16 water in their respective locations. The department shall, in cooper-
17 ation with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and
18 consistent with the Long Island Sound Bi-state committee resolution
19 regarding commercial menhaden fishing, provide a report of its findings
20 and recommendations thereon to the governor, the temporary president of
21 the senate, the speaker of the assembly, and the chairmen of the senate
22 and assembly environmental conservation committees within one year of
23 the effective date of this subdivision]; provided however, that the
24 department shall have the authority to issue a temporary order allowing
25 the use of purse seines for taking menhaden, pursuant to temporary
26 permits, if the department determines that there is an imminent risk of
27 a fish kill resulting from the presence of unusually large amounts of
28 menhaden in waters of the marine and coastal district in or adjacent to
29 waterbody segments that are characteristic of locations likely to expe-
30 rience fish kills or that have a history of hypoxia. Prior to issuing
31 such temporary order, the department shall first consider other fishing
32 methods authorized under this chapter, including but not limited to
33 beach seines, and shall only issue a temporary order if the department
34 determines that such other fishing methods will not sufficiently miti-
35 gate the conditions precipitating the potential fish kill. Such order
36 shall include the department's justification for the use of purse
37 seines, time, geography, and poundage specifications, and any other
38 conditions that the department deems appropriate and shall be posted on
39 the department's website. Following the adoption of such an order, the
40 department may issue temporary permits, not to exceed fourteen days and
41 subject to the conditions of the department's temporary order, allowing
42 for the harvest of menhaden.
43 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 13-0343 of the environmental conserva-
44 tion law, as amended by chapter 546 of the laws of 1981, is amended to
45 read as follows:
46 2. In the waters of the marine district in the county of Richmond
47 purse seines may not be used to take menhaden [when operated from
48 boats]; and nets of not more than ten feet in length, operated by hand,
49 may be used to take minnows and shrimp for bait.
50 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.