S4072-2011 - NY Senate Open Legislation - Relates to harvesting surf clams and ocean quahogs; repealer

Relates to permits to mechanically harvest surf clams and ocean quahogs from New York's waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

Sponsor: ZELDIN / Co-sponsor(s): JOHNSON, LAVALLE, MARCELLINO
Law Section: Environmental Conservation Law / Law: Amd S13-0309, rpld sub 15, En Con L

S4072-2011 Actions

Jun 17, 2011: SUBSTITUTED BY A5347A
Jun 7, 2011: AMENDED ON THIRD READING (T) 4072A
May 9, 2011: ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
May 4, 2011: 2ND REPORT CAL.
May 3, 2011: 1ST REPORT CAL.435
Mar 16, 2011: REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION

S4072-2011 Meetings

Environmental Conservation: May 3, 2011

S4072-2011 Calendars

Floor Calendar: May 4, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 9, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 10, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 11, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 17, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 23, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 24, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 25, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 1, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 2, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 6, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 7, 2011

S4072-2011 Votes

VOTE: COMMITTEE VOTE: - Environmental Conservation - May 3, 2011

Ayes (11): Grisanti, Johnson, LaValle, Little, Marcellino, Maziarz, Young, Avella, Espaillat, Serrano, Stewart-Cousins
Ayes W/R (2): O'Mara, Perkins
Excused (1): Oppenheimer

S4072-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S4072

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the environmental conservation law,
in
relation to the harvesting of surf clams and ocean quahogs
and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To make the harvesting of surf clams
and ocean quahogs more economical and sustainable into the future.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
The Environmental Conservation Law is
amended by repealing subdivision 15 and adding two new subdivisions
15 and 16 relating to cooperative harvesting of surf clams and ocean
quahogs and the consolidation of the individual fishing quota from
more than one Atlantic Ocean surf clam/ocean quahog permit into a
single permit.

JUSTIFICATION:
There currently are 22 Atlantic Ocean surf clam/ocean
quahog permits issued by the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation (DEC) that allow the taking of surf clams
and ocean quahogs from the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Each of
those permits is identified with a specific vessel with a specific
"Individual Fishing Quota" ("IFQ"). The "IFQ" is the maximum amount
of surf clams and ocean quahogs that may be harvested by a vessel in
any calendar year.

All clams harvested under a surf clam/ocean quahog permit can only be
harvested on the vessel identified on that permit. In cases where a
harvester holds more than one permit, they must have a separate
vessel for each permit. However, each individual quota is
insufficient to support the operation of a separate, individual
vessel on a consistent weekly basis. Consolidating more than one IFQ
onto one vessel will enable harvesters to operate fewer vessels more
safely and productively, thereby avoiding the enormous overhead
associated with maintaining a separate vessel for each IFQ. From an
environmental standpoint, reducing the number of vessels in the
fishery would better protect the surf clam and ocean quahog resource
from the effects of inefficient dredging by older dredges. This
effect will better ensure the future sustainability of one of New
York's - and one of the country's - most economically viable marine
fishery resources.

This legislation would also provide for "cooperative harvesting",
where each harvester can decide whether to harvest his catch quota
from his own vessel or from another IFQ holder's vessel. Cage tags
that are issued by the DEC would be provided by the IFQ holder to the
captain of the harvesting vessel. The catch brought in by cooperative
harvesting would be identified on both the IFQ holder's vessel and
the harvesting vessel on their weekly trip reports in order to ensure
that daily catch limits established by DEC would not be exceeded.


Enactment of this legislation providing for cooperative harvesting and
consolidation of individual fishing quotas would make harvesting of
the surf clam and ocean quahog fishery more economical, safer and
sustainable into the future, all without any detrimental impact to or
increased harvesting of the resource.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New legislation, 2011.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None to the State.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

S4072-2011 Text

 S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 
                                          4072
 2011-2012 Regular Sessions
 I N  SENATE
 March 16, 2011
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  ZELDIN,  JOHNSON,  MARCELLINO  --  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
 harvesting of surf clams and  ocean  quahogs  and  to  repeal  certain
 provisions of such law relating thereto
 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

Section 1. Subdivision 15 of  section  13-0309  of  the  environmental
 conservation  law  is  REPEALED  and  two new subdivisions 15 and 16 are
 added to read as follows:

 15. COOPERATIVE HARVESTING. NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY  OTHER  PROVISION  OF
 THIS  CHAPTER  OR RULE OR REGULATION, PERSONS HOLDING HARVESTING PERMITS
 IN NEW YORK'S ATLANTIC OCEAN SURF CLAM/OCEAN QUAHOG FISHERY  ARE  HEREBY
 AUTHORIZED TO COOPERATIVELY HARVEST ANY PORTION OF THE PERSON'S INDIVID
 UAL FISHING QUOTA (IFQ) BY USE OF ANY VESSEL THAT IS ELIGIBLE TO HARVEST
 SHELLFISH IN THE FISHERY, SUBJECT TO THE FOLLOWING:

 A.  SUCH  COOPERATIVE  HARVESTING SHALL COMPLY WITH DAILY CATCH LIMITS
 ESTABLISHED FOR THE FISHERY BY THE DEPARTMENT  WHICH  SHALL  BE  COUNTED
 AGAINST  BOTH  THE IFQ HOLDER VESSEL'S AND THE HARVESTING VESSEL'S DAILY
 CATCH LIMITS.
 B. THE HARVESTING VESSEL USED TO CATCH SUCH  IFQ  OR  PORTION  THEREOF
 SHALL  BE  IDENTIFIED TO THE DEPARTMENT IN BOTH THE IFQ HOLDER'S AND THE
 HARVESTING VESSEL'S REPORT TO THE DEPARTMENT.
 C. IN COOPERATIVE HARVESTING THERE SHALL BE NO  REQUIREMENT  THAT  THE
 CAPTAIN  OF  THE  IFQ  HOLDER'S VESSEL BE ON BOARD THE HARVESTING VESSEL
 DURING HARVESTING.
 D. IN COOPERATIVE HARVESTING THE IFQ HOLDER WILL PROVIDE  THE  CAPTAIN
 OF THE HARVESTING VESSEL WITH SUCH CAGE TAGS AS ARE NECESSARY TO ACCOUNT
 FOR THE HARVEST ATTRIBUTABLE TO SUCH IFQ HOLDER.
 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD06312-02-1
        S. 4072                             2
 E.  NOTHING  HEREIN  DESCRIBED SHALL ALTER THE DAILY, WEEKLY OR ANNUAL
 CATCH LIMITS OBTAINABLE BY ANY IFQ HOLDER WITHIN THE FISHERY.
 16. CONSOLIDATION. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THIS CHAPTER
 OR  RULE  OR  REGULATION,  ANY  PERSON  WHO HOLDS AN ATLANTIC OCEAN SURF
 CLAM/OCEAN QUAHOG PERMIT IS AUTHORIZED  TO  REQUEST  THE  DEPARTMENT  TO
 CONSOLIDATE  THE  INDIVIDUAL  FISHING  QUOTA  (IFQ)  OR PORTIONS THEREOF
 ESTABLISHED FOR ITS VESSEL ONTO ONE OR MORE SUCH VESSELS AS THE  PERMIT
 TEE MAY DIRECT, SUBJECT TO THE FOLLOWING:

 A.  VESSELS  UPON  WHICH ANY IFQ OR PORTION OF AN IFQ ARE PLACED UNDER
 THIS PROVISION MUST HOLD A DEPARTMENT-ISSUED PERMIT  TO  PARTICIPATE  IN
 THE FISHERY.
 B. UPON TRANSFERRING THE ENTIRETY OF AN IFQ FROM ONE VESSEL TO ANOTHER
 OR  OTHERS,  THE  TRANSFERRING VESSEL SHALL BECOME INELIGIBLE TO PARTIC
 IPATE IN THE FISHERY UNTIL SUCH TIME AS THE VESSEL IS  PROPERLY  IDENTI
 FIED FOR USE TO THE DEPARTMENT ON ANOTHER ATLANTIC OCEAN SURF CLAM/OCEAN
 QUAHOG HARVESTING PERMIT.
 

S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

S4072-2011: Relates to harvesting surf clams and ocean quahogs; repealer