LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION urging the New York State Congressional deleg-
ation to support reforms to Federal regulations which impact commercial
fisheries

WHEREAS, A critical component of the local economy of eastern Long
Island, commercial fisheries constitute an important aspect of the
heritage of the region like its agricultural traditions; and
WHEREAS, The fishing industry operates within one of the most heavily
regulated business environments in the Nation, with an administrative
framework of multiple layers such as the federally appointed Marine
Fisheries Council, the States' Atlantic Marine Fisheries Commission, the
United States Congress, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the
United States Department of Commerce, the New York State Legislature and
the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; and
WHEREAS, The Federal and State regulations promulgated from these and
other entities have resulted in significant and continuing negative
consequences to commercial fishermen and other related industries,
including resort tourism, restaurants and recreational aspects of the
economy in the region; and
WHEREAS, The nationwide economic downturn is further compounding the
problem and community advocates are calling upon the government to
remove onerous burdens and streamline regulations, particularly those
which have been called into question for creating long-standing inequi-
ties across the northeastern United States; and
WHEREAS, Over the years, numerous efforts to reform commercial fisher-
ies have been undertaken for public consideration, including the East
End Economic and Environmental Task Force BluePrint for Our Future, the
Pombo-Frank bill in the United States House of Representatives, as well
as a myriad of other initiatives from individual lawmakers and advocacy
groups; and
WHEREAS, A recent proposal to level the playing field for commercial
fishermen in the northeast region included: changes to the length of
fishing seasons, along with the number and size of fish that may be
kept; developing and evaluating a new type of data collection system to
ensure the most accurate statistics are used in future considerations;
and an annual analysis of the cumulative socioeconomic impacts to a
fishing community when determining timelines, cutbacks and quotas, as
well as developing multiyear management plans to reflect an average of
fishing quotas, rather than attempting to offset annual fluctuations;
and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to support reforms
in Federal regulation that would ensure parity for commercial fisheries
in New York in regard to other states such as Connecticut, New Jersey
and Rhode Island; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
urge the New York State Congressional delegation to support reforms to
Federal regulations which impact commercial fisheries; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to each member of the Congressional delegation from the State of
New York.