Bill Text: NY A10506 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Relates to the taking of menhaden; provides that menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) from which oil or meal is made may not be taken from the waters of the marine district with a purse seine; provides for the expiration and repeal of such provisions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 24-1)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-06-20 - COMMITTED TO RULES [A10506 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A10506-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                        10506--A
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                       May 2, 2018
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  ENGLEBRIGHT -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Environmental Conservation -- reported  and  referred  to
          the  Committee on Codes -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
          reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
        AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation  to  the
          taking  of  menhaden;  and providing for the repeal of such provisions
          upon expiration thereof
          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.
                                                                   LBD15436-02-8
        A. 10506--A                         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. 10506--A                         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].
    24    §  2.  Subdivision 2 of section 13-0343 of the environmental conserva-
    25  tion law, as amended by chapter 546 of the laws of 1981, is  amended  to
    26  read as follows:
    27    2.  In  the  waters  of  the marine district in the county of Richmond
    28  purse seines may not be  used  to  take  menhaden  [when  operated  from
    29  boats];  and nets of not more than ten feet in length, operated by hand,
    30  may be used to take minnows and shrimp for bait.
    31    § 3. This act shall take effect January 1, 2020 and shall  expire  and
    32  be deemed repealed December 31, 2023.