Lobster Trap Tag Program

Byron Young of DEC reported that the affidavits of historic lobster trap usage had been received from licensed lobstermen, trap tags had been sent out, and the Department was presently hearing and considering appeals from those license holders who felt their trap tag allocations were too small. The trap tag regulations are in the final review stages; a notice of adoption would be filed soon. The tag ordering process through the commercial supplier had been satisfactory. Councilor King noted that July was a terrible time to discuss lobster issues; moreover, he considered the trap tag allocation system flawed as it allowed dishonest fishermen to fudge records and to successfully claim to have used more traps than they actually had, resulting in a higher trap tag allocation. He expressed concern that a new entrant, with no history in the fishery, could not earn a living with just 50 traps. John German of the Long Island Sound Lobstermen’s Association added that the lobster trap tag program was extremely unpopular with the industry. Some individuals still lacked their tags; some tags were defective; allocations were often unfair and implementation haphazard. Captain Otterstedt of DEC’s Division of Law Enforcement requested details on the defective tags. Mr. German showed him some defective tags.

Mr. Wise asked when the Long Island Sound lobster management team would meet again to discuss the implementation of the trap tag program in New York and Connecticut waters and to discuss whatever shortcomings have cropped up in the program. Mr. Colvin responded that the lobster stock assessment update and peer review were completed and Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) now had to decide what conclusions should be drawn from the assessment regarding implementation of Amendment III to the lobster fishery management plan. It would then convene all seven of the regional management teams this winter to issue guidelines for the next step. It was agreed to continue the discussion on implementing the lobster trap tags program at the September 2000 Council meeting.

Blue Crabs

Mr. Young said that blue crab draft regulations were being prepared for public comment in the normal rule-making process. Several public meetings would be held in the autumn and winter. The text would be available as soon as it was published in the state register. A draft had already been circulated at the previous Council meeting.

Fluke

Mr. Colvin said that the new fluke rules were being adopted today. They would include the recreational limits, the adjustments to the seasons, and the provisions for the commercial hand line category, which had been operating fairly well as emergency rules this year. The fluke quota as originally proposed by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in January was confirmed only in May. The situation was further complicated because NMFS was sued by environmental organizations who claimed the quota was so high that the statistical probability of attaining the target mortality was only 18% when it should have been 50%. A district court ruled against the environmental organizations but, in the spring, the federal circuit court of appeals ruled against NMFS and directed it to establish a quota at the 50% probability level. NMFS has warned that this may require that the coast-wide commercial fluke quota be cut by 2-4 million lb., to a catch figure that the fishery may already have exceeded. The final court decision is expected shortly. However, a new fluke stock assessment showed a significant increase in the biomass; when this is considered, the current commercial quota may prove to be appropriate for this year and might even be increased next year. The DEC is urging NMFS to do nothing now and make any adjustments next year. The final fluke stock assessment will be presented at the end of July in New England and again the week of August 14 at the Mid-Atlantic Council meeting. Mr. Colvin stated that, in his opinion, if NMFS imposed a new, lower commercial fluke quota and then tried to shut down the commercial season early, they would immediately be sued by North Carolina, Virginia, and other interested parties who depend on a late-season fluke fishery. Mr. Colvin stated that many observers believe that the actual growth in the biomass of fluke is greater than the stock assessment will reflect, so recreational landings may be very high. The Council and the ASMFC might then have to consider coast-wide size limit increases; the commercial industry would probably accept a higher minimum size limit if these limits allowed the quota to increase. There is an enormous problem with regulatory discards in the commercial fluke fishery.

Councilor McBride raised another issue, stating that charter boats pursuing fluke and striped bass often are rented for half a day; they needed to be able to fillet fish at sea just as the head boats can. Mr. Young responded that a regulatory package on fluke being prepared for public review and comment would extend this allowance to charter boats next year.

Tom Jordan of the NYS Commercial Hook & Line Association commented that if the fluke stock had actually recovered, this fact should trigger a relaxation of harvest restrictions, not more restrictions. Pat Augustine of the New York Sportfishing Federation and one of New York’s commissioners on the ASMFC, responded that stock assessment contained errors because it was an estimate; trends were very difficult to track without full surveys in alternate years. Gordon Colvin stated that, while the biomass of fluke had undeniably increased, the stock had most definitely not been declared fully recovered.

Scup

The federal scup quota announced at the end of May was only about half that agreed to by the states and NMFS in April, so New York State sued NMFS. In response to John Mihale’s question, Mr. Colvin explained that NMFS regulations applied only to the activities of federal permit holders in federal waters. Contrary to expectations, the new assessment did not find an increase in scup biomass.

Striped Bass

At an earlier Council meeting, it was agreed the DEC Law Enforcement would consider a request from commercial striped bass fishermen, primarily hook & line fishermen, from the extreme western South Shore of Long Island for relief from several regulations they saw as onerous. Under current regulations, if you are home-ported in waters west of the striped bass closure line, you cannot transit the closed area either with striped bass tags or with tagged fish caught further to the east in open waters. Also, the actual closure line is further to the east than is required under the most recent PCB testing data and the fishermen were asking that the line be moved as far to the west as these data will allow. Capt. Otterstedt informed the Council that, after discussing the matter, the Division of Law Enforcement would not support these proposed modifications to the regulations for two primary reasons: 1) because of the size of the Marine District: if special accommodations were allowed in this specific area, other fishermen homeported in other closed waters (NY Harbor, western Long Island Sound) would likely make the same demand, with very negative impact on law enforcement in the entire district; and 2) it would be difficult if not impossible to design commercial hand line fishing gear requirements in such a way as to guarantee that a tagged striped bass found on a boat in closed waters had not been caught in those closed waters, rather than legally in open waters. Capt. Otterstedt suggested that retesting of the areas in question for PCB’s (the current data are from a 1995 survey) might provide relief eventually by reopening some of these closed areas.

John Mihale of the NYS Commercial Hook & Line Association asserted that dozens of people were affected, a high percentage of industry participants in these closed areas. Mr. Otterstedt noted that the Department was being extremely cautious because the PCB issue is a human health issue, not a resource management issue

Councilor Sullivan asserted that an impending Jamaica Bay restoration project would stir up the bottom sediments of Jamaica Bay and release significant amounts of PCB’s and other contaminants in those sediments, creating toxic conditions for the next five years. Thus, any new striped bass PCB data obtained before the restoration project would not reflect the concentrations of this substance likely to exist during and after the restoration project. Councilor McCarron agreed that timing of such a survey would also be important, particularly if dredging was going to be done. Chairman Wise said more definitive information on the restoration project, the amount of sediment it would disturb and the contaminant status of those sediments would be necessary to confirm or refute Mr. Sullivan’s assertions. Councilor Schwab pointed out that PCB levels had to be measured and the waters certified as clean.

Mr. Wise asked what a new state-funded survey of PCB’s in striped bass in the Marine District would cost. Mr. Young responded that a full survey of the Marine District would cost approximately $400,000. The bulk of this cost would be for contaminant analysis; collection of samples would cost only $70,000 - $80,000. Mr. Young informed the Council that concentrations of PCB’s in striped bass had declined over time, including in the Hudson River. Gordon Colvin and John Mihale concurred that the entire marine district should be surveyed in hope that more areas could be opened.

Councilor Doxsee moved that the Council recommend to DEC that it conduct a new striped bass PCB contaminant survey. The motion was approved by a vote of 10 yes; 0 no; 0 abstentions.

Mr. Colvin responded to Mr. Jordan’s question as to why New York State typically does not catch its full annual commercial striped bass quota by saying that not all fishermen holding the special striped bass commercial harvesting permit use all of their striped bass tags. He noted that, over time, the gap between tag allocation and use has been narrowing. Mr. Wise added that the Council had just heard from fishermen living near closed areas that they have difficulty in utilizing their tags. Councilor Schwab requested a report from DEC on the pattern of utilization of striped bass tags.