S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
2571
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
January 23, 2019
___________
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:
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
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05555-04-9
A. 2571 2
All licenses issued under this section shall expire on December 31
following date of issue.
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
A. 2571 3
the Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 USC 1800 et seq.) and
adopted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
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]; PROVIDED HOWEVER, THAT THE
DEPARTMENT SHALL HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO ISSUE A TEMPORARY ORDER ALLOWING
THE USE OF PURSE SEINES FOR TAKING MENHADEN, PURSUANT TO TEMPORARY
PERMITS, IF THE DEPARTMENT DETERMINES THAT THERE IS AN IMMINENT RISK OF
A FISH KILL RESULTING FROM THE PRESENCE OF UNUSUALLY LARGE AMOUNTS OF
MENHADEN IN WATERS OF THE MARINE AND COASTAL DISTRICT IN OR ADJACENT TO
WATERBODY SEGMENTS THAT ARE CHARACTERISTIC OF LOCATIONS LIKELY TO EXPE-
RIENCE FISH KILLS OR THAT HAVE A HISTORY OF HYPOXIA. PRIOR TO ISSUING
SUCH TEMPORARY ORDER, THE DEPARTMENT SHALL FIRST CONSIDER OTHER FISHING
METHODS AUTHORIZED UNDER THIS CHAPTER, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
BEACH SEINES, AND SHALL ONLY ISSUE A TEMPORARY ORDER IF THE DEPARTMENT
DETERMINES THAT SUCH OTHER FISHING METHODS WILL NOT SUFFICIENTLY MITI-
GATE THE CONDITIONS PRECIPITATING THE POTENTIAL FISH KILL. SUCH ORDER
SHALL INCLUDE THE DEPARTMENT'S JUSTIFICATION FOR THE USE OF PURSE
SEINES, TIME, GEOGRAPHY, AND POUNDAGE SPECIFICATIONS, AND ANY OTHER
CONDITIONS THAT THE DEPARTMENT DEEMS APPROPRIATE AND SHALL BE POSTED ON
THE DEPARTMENT'S WEBSITE. FOLLOWING THE ADOPTION OF SUCH AN ORDER, THE
DEPARTMENT MAY ISSUE TEMPORARY PERMITS, NOT TO EXCEED FOURTEEN DAYS AND
SUBJECT TO THE CONDITIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT'S TEMPORARY ORDER, ALLOWING
FOR THE HARVEST OF MENHADEN.
§ 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 immediately.