The New York State Senate

                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  8570

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              May 10, 2018
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen. LAVALLE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation

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:

  Section  1.  Section  13-0333  of  the environmental conservation law,
subdivisions 1 and 2 as amended by chapter 427  of  the  laws  of  1979,
subdivisions  3,  4 and 5 as amended and subdivisions 6, 7, 9, 10 and 11
as added by chapter 60 of the laws of 1997, and paragraph b of  subdivi-
sion  4 and subdivision 8 as amended by chapter 156 of the laws of 1997,
is amended to read as follows:
§ 13-0333. Menhaden; [license;] prohibited acts.
  [1.] Menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) from which oil or  meal  is  made,
subject  to the provisions of section 13-0343, may NOT be taken from the
waters of the marine district with a purse seine [provided a license  is
first obtained from the department.
  2.  Each  license  shall  be  issued to cover one vessel and pertinent
equipment by which such fish are taken and shall be issued in  the  name
of  the  owner,  lessee or operator of each vessel so used. License fees
shall be computed on the basis of gross tonnage  of  the  vessel  to  be
licensed  as  indicated in the document, certificate of award, register,
registration, enrollment or license of such vessel issued by the  United
States or any state.
  3. The license fee shall be: For each vessel:

30 gross tons or less                           25 dollars
more than 30 gross tons and less than
200 gross tons                                  500 dollars
more than 200 gross tons                      2,000 dollars

All licenses issued under this section shall expire on December 31
following date of issue.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD15436-03-8

S. 8570                             2

  4.  For  the purpose of this chapter, commercial menhaden purse seines
may not be used or set:
  a.  in  the  area  of Long Island Sound extending west of an imaginary
line from the New York state-Connecticut  boundary  line  (Byram  River)
extending easterly and southerly to buoy 13 (off Eaton's Neck).
  b. in Long Island Sound south of a straight line one-half mile seaward
of  a  straight  line between buoy 13 (off Eaton's Neck) and buoy 9 (off
Sound Beach).
  Distances shall be determined from straight lines  drawn  between  the
designated buoys and navigational aids.
  5.  No  person  shall take menhaden by purse seining except during the
period commencing on the Monday following the fourth  day  of  July  and
ending  on  the  third  Friday in October.   Nothing in this subdivision
shall be construed as legalizing the taking of menhaden by purse seining
on weekends or legal holidays during the period  provided  for  in  this
subdivision.
  6.  The  department shall, in consultation with the menhaden industry,
have the authority to require menhaden purse seine vessels  to  carry  a
department-approved  observer  during  their operation in New York state
waters. Beginning July sixth, nineteen hundred ninety-eight, the depart-
ment shall require menhaden purse seine vessels equal to or greater than
two hundred gross tons to carry a  department-approved  observer  during
their operation in New York state waters. Such observers shall independ-
ently  note  and  record  information, as directed by the department, on
such items as fishing location, menhaden catch, by-catch, and  any  user
conflicts.  The  license  holder for the vessel for which an observer is
required will be responsible for  the  costs  of  such  observer.    The
department shall promulgate rules and regulations to establish appropri-
ate  procedures  for  the  assessment  and  collection  of costs for the
observers.
  7. The operator of a menhaden purse seine vessel shall report  to  the
department  twenty-four  hours prior to entering the waters of the state
and shall submit to the department a regular and timely report of  their
total harvest.  The department shall develop regulations six months from
the  effective  date  of  this  subdivision  related  to  this reporting
requirement.
  8. The department shall, in cooperation with the  Connecticut  Depart-
ment  of  Environmental  Protection  and consistent with the Long Island
Sound Bi-state committee resolution regarding commercial menhaden  fish-
ing,  undertake  a  water  quality  assessment of the effect of menhaden
vessel fish hold waste on Long Island Sound water quality.  The  depart-
ment  shall  report  back  within one year of the effective date of this
subdivision thereon to the governor,  the  temporary  president  of  the
senate,  the speaker of the assembly, and the chairmen of the senate and
assembly environmental conservation committees  with  its  findings  and
recommendations  for  reducing  or  eliminating  the  adverse aesthetic,
ecological, and water quality impacts of said discharge.
  9. Licensees shall be legally  and  financially  responsible  for  the
clean  up  of  fish lost during any fishing or fish handling operations.
The department shall establish regulations to enforce this subdivision.
  10. The department shall adopt  regulations  to  prohibit  or  further
limit menhaden fishing when required by, and consistent with, the Inter-
state  Fishery Management plan for Atlantic menhaden adopted pursuant to
the Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 USC 1800  et  seq.)  and
adopted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

S. 8570                             3

  11.  The department, in cooperation with the Connecticut Department of
Environmental Protection and  consistent  with  the  Long  Island  Sound
Bi-state  committee  resolution  regarding  commercial menhaden fishing,
shall evaluate the appropriateness and effectiveness of  establishing  a
limit  on  the number of purse seine vessels that may be allowed to fish
on Long Island Sound. The department  shall,  in  cooperation  with  the
Connecticut  Department  of Environmental Protection and consistent with
the Long Island Sound Bi-state committee resolution regarding commercial
menhaden fishing, evaluate the benefits and effectiveness of  establish-
ing  a  cap  on the quantity of menhaden that can be harvested from Long
Island Sound in one year. The department shall, in consultation with the
menhaden fishing industry, investigate means of regulating the depth  at
which  menhaden  purse  seines  are set with respect to the depth of the
water in their respective locations. The department  shall,  in  cooper-
ation  with  the  Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and
consistent with the Long  Island  Sound  Bi-state  committee  resolution
regarding  commercial menhaden fishing, provide a report of its findings
and recommendations thereon to the governor, the temporary president  of
the  senate, the speaker of the assembly, and the chairmen of the senate
and assembly environmental conservation committees within  one  year  of
the effective date of this subdivision].
  §  2.  Subdivision 2 of section 13-0343 of the environmental conserva-
tion law, as amended by chapter 546 of the laws of 1981, is  amended  to
read as follows:
  2.  In  the  waters  of  the marine district in the county of Richmond
purse seines may not be  used  to  take  menhaden  [when  operated  from
boats];  and nets of not more than ten feet in length, operated by hand,
may be used to take minnows and shrimp for bait.
  § 3. This act shall take effect January 1, 2020 and shall  expire  and
be deemed repealed December 31, 2023.