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Meetings

Environmental Conservation: May 17, 2011

Calendars

Active List: Jun 6, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 18, 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

Votes

Memo

BILL NUMBER:S4977

TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to continuing the authority of the department of environmental conservation to provide the taking of sharks

PURPOSE: To extend the Department of Environmental Conservation's (DEC) authority to manage sharks.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: This bill would extend DEC's authority to fix, by regulation, management measures for sharks in State waters until December 31,2013.

JUSTIFICATION: The DEC's regulatory authority over sharks is necessary in order to preserve the current regulatory program. Failure to extend the existing regulatory authority by December 31, 2011 will result in the loss of regulatory protection of these species. Moreover, regulatory authority is critical for New York State to maintain compliance with Fishery Management Plans for important marine and anadromous fish species along the coast. Failure to make necessary regulatory changes required by Fishery Management Plans places New York in jeopardy of closure of commercial and recreational fisheries. Finally, ECL 13-0105, which sets forth the State's marine fisheries conservation and management policy, provides that this policy shall be carried out through achievement of certain objectives. One of these objectives is that the state's transboundary and migratory species shall be consistent with any inter-jurisdictional management plans, interstate or state-federal. Regulatory authority provides the mechanism to react timely to the ever changing fishery management plans.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: Last extended by Chapter 141 of the Laws of 2007.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None to the State.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.

Text

STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________

4977

2011-2012 Regular Sessions

IN SENATE

May 2, 2011
___________

Introduced by Sens. JOHNSON, GRISANTI -- 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
  continuing  the authority of the department of environmental conserva-
  tion to provide the taking of sharks

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

  Section  1.  Subdivision  4  of  section  13-0338 of the environmental
conservation law, as amended by chapter 141 of  the  laws  of  2007,  is
amended to read as follows:
  4.  The  department  may,  until  December  thirty-first, two thousand
[eleven] THIRTEEN, fix by regulation  measures  for  the  management  of
sharks,  including  size  limits,  catch and possession limits, open and
closed seasons, closed areas, restrictions on the manner of  taking  and
landing,  requirements for permits and eligibility therefor, recordkeep-
ing requirements, requirements on the amount and type of fishing  effort
and  gear,  and  requirements relating to transportation, possession and
sale, provided that  such  regulations  are  no  less  restrictive  than
requirements  set  forth  in this chapter and provided further that such
regulations are consistent with the compliance requirements of  applica-
ble fishery management plans adopted by the Atlantic States Marine Fish-
eries  Commission  and  with applicable provisions of fishery management
plans adopted pursuant to the Federal Fishery Conservation  and  Manage-
ment Act (16 U.S.C. S1800 et seq.).
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD06907-02-1