LaValle Bill Will Help Commercial Fishermen Save Fuel.

A bill (S.1456) to help commercial fishermen conserve fuel by allowing them to fish for five times the daily catch limit allowable under their fishing license in the aggregate over a period of seven days has passed the New York State Senate said Senator Kenneth P. LaValle (R-C-I, Port Jefferson), the bill’s sponsor.

LaValle explained the reason for the legislation and said that the current price of fuel for running a fishing boat is extremely expensive and cost prohibitive and that fuel costs cut significantly into the already slim profits of fishermen.

“The bill,” LaValle said,  “allows fishermen to conserve fuel by keeping their boats off the water more often since they would be allowed to aggregate their daily catch limits over a seven-day period. It saves fishermen money and conserves precious resources.”

Therefore, a fisherman could, for example, catch three times the daily catch limit on Monday and two times the limit on Wednesday and then stay off the water until the following Monday when a consecutive period of seven days is completed. The bill also would allow individuals with different fishing licenses to go out and catch each of their daily limits from the same boat (this is currently prohibited).

The fact that they can only catch five times the amount of fish in the aggregate over a seven day period creates a fair balance for the convenience and cost-savings they would enjoy, LaValle said. 

This bill would sunset on January 1, 2014 at which time the success of this approach could be fully evaluated and the necessity of an extension determined.

The bill will now be sent to the Assembly.