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

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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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-Introduced.html

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                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.