Councilor Sima Freierman, Chairwoman of the Council’s Subcommittee on Special Commercial Fluke and Striped Bass Harvest Permits, reported to the Council on the subcommittee’s revised recommendations for handling the fluke permit.  She described the survey soliciting feedback on several key fluke permit issues which was mailed to all commercial foodfish license-holders in New York, and the scoping meeting held by the committee at which foodfish license-holders, both those possessing a fluke permit and those who did not, gave comments and suggestions to the subcommittee.  The subcommittee met several times after the scoping session to produce its final recommendations.  Ms. Freierman said that the group recommends a two-step process to improve the management of summer fluke in New York.  The first step is to require all those possessing a special fluke permit to requalify.  The second step is to make fluke permits transferable.

Requalification– the intent of the subcommittee is to allow a fisherman to keep his/her special fluke permits if they use it, but to eliminate those permits that have been idle for several years (340 special fluke permits have been issued by DEC, but no more than 195 permits have actually been used in any of the last four years).  The subcommittee recommends that in order to retain a existing fluke permit in 2006, the holder must demonstrate, for two of the last four years (2002-2005)

a) 50% of earned income from fishing per year

                                       AND

b-1)   50 days per year spent fishing for harvest and sale

                                        OR

b-2)  a minimum of 500lbs of fluke harvested for sale each year

These requalification criteria would apply to corporate and individual licenses.  As acceptable evidence of proof that a permit-holder met these criteria, the committee recommends:

For criterion (a). the same financial reports that were used for recent requalification of striped bass permits

For criterion (b-1) VTR’s (Vessel Trip Reports) filed with state or federal agencies

For criterion (b-2), copies of returns from fish dealers, restaurants or other end-consumers or VTR’s filed with state or federal agencies

Transferability – in recommending that special fluke permits be made transferable, it is the intent of the committee to allow entry into the commercial fluke fishery without stimulating increased fishing effort on the stock.  Recommendations for transfer qualifications and limitations include:

• DEC should establish a transfer fee to cover administrative expenses of facilitating transfers
• Only licenses endorsing a particular boat could be transferred
• Transfers could take place only within, not across, gear types
• Transfers could take place only between boats with a ± 10% length or ± 20% horsepower differential
• Transfer criteria apply to both corporate and individual licenses
• Transfer price would be set by market value
• Transfers could go only to fishermen who meet the above criteria for requalifying existing permits
• Transfers within families would be subject to these transfer stipulations

Councilor Joe McBride suggested that the transferability concept should also be applied the party and charter boat operators license.  Mr. Colvin asked when a holder wishes to transfer a permit and uses more than one gear type, how would that be handled?  Ms. Freierman responded that the permit must endorse a particular vessel to be eligible for transfer.  Mr. Colvin suggested allowing just VTR’s as evidence of meeting criterion b-2, above, and already filed before a specific date (like today); this would prevent the concoction of false forms.

Councilor Melissa Dearborn questioned why the subcommittee isn’t recommending that DEC issue a small number (e.g., 20-25) new special fluke permits through a simple lottery approach in lieu of the proposed transfer mechanism?  Councilor Thomas Jordan, Jr., a subcommittee member, answered that he didn’t think a simple lottery would be a workable mechanism to allot new special fluke permits.  The subcommittee felt that getting rid of unused permits should the first priority.  Once the number extant is down to ± 200, transfer would be allowed as the quickest way to allow new entrants into the fluke fishery.  Several other Counselors expressed misgivings about the specific rules that would govern special fluke permit transfers that the subcommittee had recommended.   Ms. Frierman agreed that more discussion and tuning in this area might be desirable. 

On behalf of the Department, Mr. Colvin thanked the subcommittee for its work and that it was obvious how thorough it was in discussing and developing the several facets of this proposal.  He observed that the Department could move forward on the subcommittee’s requalification recommendations through standard rulemaking, although it will be difficult to implement the recommendations by the beginning of 2006.  Mr. Colvin suggested that more dialogue and discussion was needed regarding the subcommittee’s proposal that the special fluke permit be made transferable, along with the specific guidelines and limitations that would govern any transfer program.

Councilor Dearborn made a motion that the Council recommend to DEC that it move forward expeditiously to implement the subcommittee’s proposed special fluke permit requalification recommendations (for 2006, if possible).  At the suggestion of Mr. McBride, the motion was amended to delete from b-2 any document other than a VTR filed before today (20 September 2005).  Ms. Dearborn’s motion carried by a vote of 10 in favor; 0 opposed; 3 abstentions.

 

Page last modified Tuesday, November 8, 2005 by George E. Carroll