The Council discussed extending to clients of boat livery stations the two-fish/person striped bass limit allowed to the clients of party and charter boats. Concern was expressed that livery fishermen frequently fish for bass by clam chumming and this practice resulted in high mortality of released fish; this should not be encouraged. Several commercial fishery representatives on the Council felt no increase in allocation of striped bass should be given to recreational fishermen, livery boat-based or otherwise, until the commercial quota for striped bass has increased. Recreational fishery representatives noted that New York’s recreational striped bass regulations are already stricter than is required by the ASMFC management plan. Several individuals expressed the sentiment that striped bass are now so numerous that they are beginning to limit the production of other recreationally or commercially valuable species and greater harvests of striped bass should be encouraged. It was suggested that any action by New York to liberalize striped bass harvest restrictions should await the outcome of the current stock assessment, expected in several weeks. Some fishermen requested that the current 7-fish daily striped bass by-catch allowance for trawl fishermen be done away with and these fishermen be allowed to catch as many striped bass as they have tags for, however they want to. Mr. Colvin noted that this cannot be done through rule-making, as the by-catch provision is a matter of law.

Mr. Colvin said that the DEC would now go through the internal procedure of preparing a regulatory package for the State Register.