S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                   8753
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             October 25, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. WOERNER -- read once and referred to the Commit-
   tee on Environmental Conservation
 
 AN ACT to allow the village of Schuylerville, Saratoga County, New York,
   to conduct up to two fishing tournaments  per  calendar  year  in  the
   fourteen mile stretch of the Hudson River between Champlain Canal Lock
   C5  and  Champlain  Canal  Lock C4 and to exempt such tournaments from
   "catch and release" orders
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  (a)  Notwithstanding any provision of law, rule, order or
 regulation to the contrary, the village of Schuylerville, Saratoga Coun-
 ty, New York, may conduct up to two  fishing  tournaments  per  calendar
 year  in the fourteen mile stretch of the Hudson River between Champlain
 Canal Lock C5, just north of Schuylerville, and Champlain Canal Lock C4,
 just north of the town  of  Mechanicville.  Such  tournaments  shall  be
 exempted  from any "catch and release" order issued by the department of
 environmental conservation and shall be conducted in accordance with the
 provisions of this section.
   (b) Each tournament shall be conducted between the hours  of  6:00  am
 and  2:00 pm, and shall be limited to a maximum of 50 boats. All partic-
 ipating boats shall be outfitted with fully functional live wells, which
 shall be checked before the tournament by the  tournament  operators  to
 assure that they are clean and empty. The live wells will only be filled
 in  the  designated section of the Hudson River between Lock C5 and Lock
 C4. All live wells in the boats shall be aerated.
   (c) Only artificial bait will be used at each tournament. Live bait is
 prohibited. No fish caught during the tournament shall  be  consumed  or
 used for bait.
   (d)  Only  largemouth  and  smallmouth  bass shall be entered into the
 tournament. All fish brought to the judges to be weighed must be a mini-
 mum of 12 inches in  length.  Fish  smaller  than  12  inches  shall  be

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD13594-01-7

 A. 8753                             2
 
 released  immediately  upon  being  caught. At weigh-in, all fish caught
 shall be placed in special fish bags with water in  them  and  shall  be
 promptly  carried  to  the weigh-in scales area. A water tank containing
 water  from  the  Hudson  River tournament area will be available at the
 weigh-in area to protect fish prior to weigh-in.  Each fish caught shall
 be released back into the Hudson River at the weigh-in area  immediately
 following weigh-in of that fish.
   (e) The operator of each boat shall drain the water from the live well
 or wells on his or her boat back into the Hudson River at the tournament
 site  following  the weigh-in or at the conclusion of his or her partic-
 ipation in the tournament.
   (f) Sponsors of the tournament  and  all  boaters  shall  provide  the
 department  of environmental conservation with proof of liability insur-
 ance covering participation in the tournament not  less  than  ten  days
 prior  to  the  date  of  the  tournament.   Participating boaters shall
 provide such proof to the sponsors of the tournament who shall, in turn,
 provide it to the department of environmental conservation.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.