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
              

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 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

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 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.