NY State Senate Bill 2017-S8570

Senate Bill S8570

2017-2018 Legislative Session

Relates to the taking of menhaden; provides for the expiration and repeal of such provisions

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jun 20, 2018	recommitted to rules vote reconsidered - restored to third reading substitution reconsidered substituted by a10506a ordered to third reading cal.2123 committee discharged and committed to rules
May 10, 2018	referred to environmental conservation

Votes

- Jun 20, 2018 - Rules Committee Vote
  S8570
  
  23
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  1
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  1
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Rules Committee Vote: Jun 20, 2018
      
      aye (23)
      
      Bonacic
      
      Breslin
      
      DeFrancisco
      
      Dilan
      
      Flanagan
      
      Gianaris
      
      Hannon
      
      Kennedy
      
      Klein
      
      Krueger
      
      LaValle
      
      Lanza
      
      Larkin
      
      Little
      
      Marcellino
      
      Montgomery
      
      Parker
      
      Ranzenhofer
      
      Robach
      
      Savino
      
      Seward
      
      Stewart-Cousins
      
      Valesky
      
      aye wr (1)
      
      Griffo
      
      excused (1)
      
      Rivera

co-Sponsors

View additional co-sponsors

2017-S8570 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A10506
Current Committee:: Senate Rules
Law Section:: Environmental Conservation Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§13-0333 & 13-0343, En Con L
Versions Introduced in 2019-2020 Legislative Session:: S2317

2017-S8570 (ACTIVE) - Summary

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.

2017-S8570 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S8570

SPONSOR: LAVALLE
 
TITLE OF BILL:  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

 
PURPOSE:

This bill would prohibit the taking of menhaden by use of a purse seine.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 13-0333 subdivision 1 of the environmental conservation law
(ECL) is amended to state that menhaden may not be taken with a purse
seine.

Additionally, section 13-0333 is amended to repeal the provisions
related to purse seine licenses from the Department of Environmental
Conservation.

Section 13-0343 subdivision 2 of the ECL is amended to repeal the
provision related to taking menhaden with purse seines when operated
from boats in Richmond County

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Atlantic Menhaden are a major food source for whales, dolphins, coastal
sharks, predatory fish, seals and seabirds. A single humpback whale can
eat thousands of pounds of Menhaden per day They are used as bait fish
by recreational and commercial fisherman and support fish meal and oil
based products industries. These small fish have been referred to as one
of the most important species in the ocean

Just prior to 2012, Atlantic Menhaden were overfished to just a small
percentage of their historic abundance. Measures were taken by the
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in 2012 to attempt to
restore the Menhaden population.

These recent efforts have been successful. Menhaden have been returning
to New York's coastal waters in historic numbers. This is good news to
the striped bass fisheries on Long Island and the replenished food
source is bringing whales and dolphins back to New York's coast, posi-
tively contributing to the tourism industry.

Because the population has been so low, purse seines have not been used
in New York for several years but as the populations grow, it is impor-
tant to consider sustainable management of this keystone species. This
legislation is necessary in order to prevent repeating history to the
detriment of the marine ecosystem and the economies that relay on them.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the State.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect January 1, 2020 and shall expire and be
deemed repealed December 31, 2023.

2017-S8570 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     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.

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