NY State Senate Bill 2021-S684

Senate Bill S684

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Relates to the management of horseshoe crabs; and provides for the repeal of certain provisions of such law upon expiration thereof

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Environmental Conservation 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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Jan 05, 2022	referred to environmental conservation
Jan 06, 2021	referred to environmental conservation

2021-S684 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Environmental Conservation
Law Section:: Environmental Conservation Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §13-0331, En Con L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2015-2016: S4832
2017-2018: S62
2019-2020: S48
2023-2024: S3185

2021-S684 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to the management of horseshoe crabs; provides for the repeal of certain provisions of such law upon expiration thereof.

2021-S684 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S684

SPONSOR: HOYLMAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to the
management of horseshoe crabs; and providing for the repeal of certain
provisions of such law upon expiration thereof

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill establishes legislative findings related to the
declining horseshoe crab population in New York and the effect this has
on New York's shorebird population, particularly the red knot, which
depends on the horseshoe crab as a food source during its migration
period.

Section 2 of the bill amends section 13-0331 of the Environmental
Conservation Law to prohibit selling or possessing with intent to sell
horseshoe crabs for commercial purposes without a permit from the
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

The bill would also establish a moratorium (lasting until Dec. 31, 2025)
on all taking, selling, or possessing with intent to sell of horseshoe
crabs or their eggs without a horseshoe crab bio-medical harvester
permit issued by the DEC. The taking of horseshoe crabs for such
purposes would have to have no more than nominal effect on shorebird &
horseshoe crab populations, and would have to use a manner of catch and
release that minimizes harm to the crabs and returns them to the same
waters they were taken.

The bill would also require DEC to conduct a study to determine whether
the population of red knots has reached certain recovery targets estab-
lished by the department, whether the population of other shorebirds has
remained stable or increased, and whether a fisheries management plan
demonstrates that an adequate supply of horseshoe crab eggs exists to
ensure population viability for both shorebirds and horseshoe crabs. DEC
would be authorized to rely on reports and studies compiled by
state/federal government wildlife management units, land grant universi-
ties, or nonprofit organizations with relevant expertise. DEC would be
required to submit a report of its findings on or before June 30th,
2025.

Section 3 of the bill establishes the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Horseshoe crabs are a vital part of the ecosystem in the waters off the
coast of New York State. Unfortunately, their population has been dras-
tically depleted by commercial fishermen who catch these crabs for use
as bait. In fact, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
(ASMFC) recently graded New York's horseshoe crab stock assessment as
"poor." In their assessment, the ASMFC stated that "continued declines
in abundance were evident in the New York and New England regions,"
adding "current harvest within the New England and New York Regions may
not be sustainable."

If these crabs are not protected, the effects could be disastrous to
other migratory birds and sea life that rely on them as a keystone
species providing an essential food source. In particular, the red knot,
a migratory bird that nests in the Arctic, relies on the eggs of the
horseshoe crab as fuel for their journey. These birds feed almost exclu-
sively on horseshoe crab eggs during this leg of their migration.

With the diminishing crab population, the average weight of the red knot
en route to its nesting place has dropped noticeably. Without enough
nourishment, they do not have the stamina to make the journey and hatch
fledglings. Recent surveys have shown the effects of this:  a stunning
75% decline in the red knot population since the 1980s, leading experts
to fear the red knot's extinction if horseshoe crab populations continue
to decline.

Harvesting of some horseshoe crabs is necessary, because of their medi-
cinal value. The crab plays a vital, yet little-known, role in the life
of anyone who has received an injectable medication. An extract of the
horseshoe crab's blood is used by the pharmaceutical and medical device
industries to ensure that their products, e.g., intravenous drugs,
vaccines, and medical devices, are free of bacterial contamination. No
other test works as easily or reliably for this purpose.

This bill would authorize such bio-medical harvesting with a permit from
the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), but place a tempo-
rary moratorium on all other horseshoe crab harvesting to allow the
horseshoe crab population to recover. It would also ban the sale of
horseshoe crabs and their eggs without a permit from DEC. During the
moratorium, the bill would also require DEC to conduct a study to deter-
mine whether the relevant threatened populations have recovered or
stabilized, and report back to the Governor and to the Legislature.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S.0048A of 2019-2020 (Hoylman): Died in Environmental Conservation
S.0048 of 2020 (Hoylman) Amended (T) and recommitted to Environmental
Conservation
S.0048 of 2019 (Hoylman): Died in Environmental Conservation
S.0062 of 2017-2018 (Hoylman): Died in Environmental Conservation
S.4832-A of 2015-16(Hoylman): Died in Environmental Conservation

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.day after it shall have become a of section 13-0331 of
the section two of this act, shall 2026.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth law; provided, however, that
subdivision 10 environmental conservation law, as added by expire and be
deemed repealed on January 1,

2021-S684 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    684
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 6, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. HOYLMAN -- 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
   management of horseshoe crabs; and providing for the repeal of certain
   provisions of such law upon expiration thereof
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Legislative findings.  The legislature hereby finds that:
   (a) The horseshoe crab stock assessments issued by the Atlantic States
 Marine Fisheries  Commission  (ASMFC)  for  the  New  York  region  have
 declined  since 2009, when the population was graded as "good". The 2013
 stock assessment graded the population as neutral, and in the 2019 stock
 assessment, the Commission downgraded the status of the  horseshoe  crab
 population  in  New  York State to "poor". Stock status was based on the
 proportion of surveys above or below the 1998  reference  points  estab-
 lished when ASMFC management of horseshoe crabs began. In the 2019 stock
 assessment, the ASMFC states that, "Continued declines in abundance were
 evident  in  the  New  York  and  New England regions. Decreased harvest
 quotas in Delaware Bay have potentially  redirected  harvest  to  nearby
 regions. Current harvest within the New England and New York regions may
 not  be  sustainable.  Continued  precautionary  management is therefore
 recommended coast-wide to anticipate effects of redirecting harvest from
 Delaware Bay to outlying populations."
   (b) The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)  has
 also  determined that the horseshoe crab meets the Red List criteria and
 is  vulnerable  to  local  extinction.  The  IUCN  stated,   "Population
 reductions  in  Limulus  have  occurred  over  much of its range, but in
 particular within the Mid-Atlantic region. The cause is understood to be
 over-harvest, which has been corrected through active management  inter-
 vention  over much of the range. An assessment of population trend indi-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05579-01-1

 S. 684                              2
 
 cates population stability in the Delaware Bay area of the  Mid-Atlantic
 region  and  population  growth  in  the  Southeast region.   Continuing
 decreases were found in the Great Bay estuary of New  Hampshire  in  the
 Gulf  of  Maine  region,  the  New England and New York areas within the
 Mid-Atlantic region and in the Northeast Gulf of Mexico."
   (c) Each spring, shorebirds stop at Long Island beaches and feed  upon
 horseshoe  crab  eggs.  These include the red knot, dunlin, semipalmated
 sandpiper, sanderling, ruddy  turnstone,  greater  yellowlegs,  American
 golden-plover,  black-bellied  plover,  buff-breasted  sandpiper, short-
 billed dowitcher, purple sandpiper, marbled  godwit,  Hudsonian  godwit,
 and whimbrel.
   (d)  The red knot was once considered one of the state's most abundant
 shorebirds. Horseshoe crab eggs are a critical source of  food  for  red
 knots  which  they  consume during their stopover in New York. Such food
 source is necessary for the red  knots  to  gain  sufficient  weight  to
 continue  their  migration  north  to  breeding  grounds in the Canadian
 Arctic. Surveys have shown that red knots have declined  by  75  percent
 since the 1980s. Thus, both state and international biologists fear that
 the  red knot will become extinct if horseshoe crab populations continue
 to decline.
   (e) Horseshoe crabs are keystone species, providing an essential  food
 source not only for red knots, but also for many other types of bird and
 fish species important to New York's commercial and recreational fisher-
 ies, as well as birding and fishing tourism. Eels, whelk, catfish, juve-
 nile  striped  bass,  white perch, killifish, weakfish, Atlantic silver-
 sides, bluefish, sand shrimp, blue crabs, spider crabs, and hermit crabs
 all eat horseshoe crab eggs and larvae as part of their diets.
   (f) The legislature therefore declares  that  stricter  management  of
 horseshoe  crabs  is  necessary  to ensure that more horseshoe crab eggs
 will be available as a food source, thus helping to ensure the  survival
 of these shorebirds.
   §  2.  Subdivision 1 of section 13-0331 of the environmental conserva-
 tion law, as amended by chapter 447 of the laws of 2017, is amended  and
 two new subdivisions 9 and 10 are added to read as follows:
   1.  A.  No person shall take crabs, including horseshoe crabs (Limulus
 sp.)  for commercial purposes, OR SELL OR POSSESS WITH  INTENT  TO  SELL
 HORSESHOE  CRABS  FOR  COMMERCIAL  PURPOSES,  without  first obtaining a
 permit from  the  department.  [For  purposes  of  this  subdivision,  a
 presumption  of "commercial purposes" shall be made wherein one takes or
 lands more than fifty crabs in any one day or sells or barters or offers
 for sale or barter any crabs he or she  has  taken.]  Permits  shall  be
 issued  to  individuals only but may be endorsed for use on a vessel, in
 which case it shall cover all persons on board such vessel.
   B. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SUBDIVISION:
   (I) A PRESUMPTION OF "COMMERCIAL PURPOSES" SHALL BE MADE  WHEREIN  ONE
 TAKES  OR  LANDS MORE THAN FIFTY CRABS OR MORE THAN FIVE HORSESHOE CRABS
 IN ANY ONE DAY OR SELLS OR BARTERS OR OFFERS  FOR  SALE  OR  BARTER  ANY
 CRABS, INCLUDING HORSESHOE CRABS, HE OR SHE HAS TAKEN; AND
   (II)  A  PRESUMPTION  OF  POSSESSION WITH INTENT TO SELL SHALL BE MADE
 WHEREIN ANY HORSESHOE CRABS ARE POSSESSED  WITHOUT  A  PERMIT  FROM  THE
 DEPARTMENT.
   9.  A.  NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION OF THIS SECTION TO THE CONTRARY,
 UNTIL DECEMBER THIRTY-FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-SIX,  NO  PERSON  SHALL
 TAKE,  SELL,  OR POSSESS WITH INTENT TO SELL ANY HORSESHOE CRAB (LIMULUS
 SP.) OR THE EGGS OF ANY HORSESHOE CRAB, EXCEPT PURSUANT TO  A  HORSESHOE
 CRAB BIO-MEDICAL HARVESTER PERMIT.

 S. 684                              3
 
   B.  ANY PERSON MAY APPLY FOR A HORSESHOE CRAB BIO-MEDICAL HARVESTER OR
 USER PERMIT AND THE DEPARTMENT MAY ISSUE SUCH  PERMIT  UPON  A  DETERMI-
 NATION  THAT THE PERMIT IS FOR A VALID AND NECESSARY BIO-MEDICAL PURPOSE
 AND THAT THE TAKING OF HORSESHOE CRABS FOR SUCH PURPOSES  WILL  HAVE  NO
 MORE  THAN  NOMINAL  IMPACT  TO  THE  RED KNOT, OTHER SHOREBIRDS, OR THE
 HORSESHOE CRAB POPULATION.
   C. WHEN TAKING HORSESHOE CRABS, A HOLDER OF A HORSESHOE CRAB BIO-MEDI-
 CAL HARVESTER PERMIT SHALL USE A MANNER OF CATCH AND RELEASE THAT  MINI-
 MIZES  INJURY  TO  CRABS,  AND SHALL RELEASE ANY TAKEN CRABS TO THE SAME
 WATERS FROM WHICH THEY WERE TAKEN.
   D. THE TAKING OF HORSESHOE CRABS  INCIDENTALLY  DURING  LEGAL  FISHING
 OPERATIONS  DOES  NOT  VIOLATE THIS SECTION IF SUCH CRABS ARE HANDLED IN
 SUCH A MANNER TO  MINIMIZE  HARM  TO  SUCH  CRABS  AND  ARE  IMMEDIATELY
 RETURNED TO THE SAME WATERS FROM WHICH THEY WERE TAKEN.
   10.  A.  THE DEPARTMENT SHALL CONDUCT A STUDY TO EXAMINE AND DETERMINE
 WHETHER:
   (I) THE POPULATION OF RED KNOTS HAS REACHED RECOVERY TARGETS AS DETER-
 MINED BY THE DEPARTMENT; AND
   (II) THE POPULATION OF OTHER SHOREBIRDS THAT  RELY  ON  THE  HORSESHOE
 CRAB  (LIMULUS  SP.)  OR  THE  EGGS  OF THE HORSESHOE CRAB HAVE REMAINED
 STABLE OR INCREASED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE DUNLIN,  SEMIPAL-
 MATED SANDPIPER, SANDERLING, RUDDY TURNSTONE, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, AMERI-
 CAN GOLDEN-PLOVER, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER, SHORT-
 BILLED  DOWITCHER,  PURPLE  SANDPIPER, MARBLED GODWIT, HUDSONIAN GODWIT,
 AND WHIMBREL; AND
   (III) A FISHERIES MANAGEMENT PLAN DEMONSTRATES THAT AN ADEQUATE SUPPLY
 OF HORSESHOE CRAB EGGS EXISTS TO ENSURE POPULATION  VIABILITY  FOR  BOTH
 SHOREBIRDS  AND  HORSESHOE  CRABS,  AS  WELL AS A SUSTAINABLE COMMERCIAL
 FISHERY, PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION. EVIDENCE THAT SUCH
 A SUPPLY OF EGGS EXISTS MAY INCLUDE TWO  CONSECUTIVE  STOCK  ASSESSMENTS
 FROM  THE ATLANTIC STATES MARINE FISHERIES COMMISSION THAT GRADE THE NEW
 YORK STATE HORSESHOE CRABS (LIMULUS SP.) POPULATION AS "GOOD."
   B. TO SATISFY THE REQUIREMENTS OF PARAGRAPH A OF THIS SUBDIVISION, THE
 DEPARTMENT MAY RELY ON REPORTS AND POPULATION STUDIES  COMPILED  BY  ANY
 STATE OR FEDERAL UNIT OF GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBLE FOR WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT,
 A  LAND-GRANT  UNIVERSITY,  OR NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS WITH EXPERTISE IN
 ORNITHOLOGY.
   C. ON OR BEFORE JUNE THIRTIETH, TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-SIX,  THE  DEPART-
 MENT  SHALL SUBMIT A REPORT OF ITS FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDA-
 TIONS TO THE GOVERNOR AND TO THE LEGISLATURE WITH REGARD  TO  THE  STUDY
 CONDUCTED PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH A OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
   §  3.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
 have become a law; provided, however, that  subdivision  10  of  section
 13-0331  of  the environmental conservation law, as added by section two
 of this act, shall expire and be deemed repealed on January 1, 2027.

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