Chairman Wise received a request from the President of the New York chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association asking that fish pot marking requirements be discussed by the Council. Mr. Colvin responded that the Department was moving to stipulate how commercial fish pot users must report their catches to both DEC and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Other data to be reported include the amount of fishing effort, location(s) fished, etc. It was noted that NMFS vessel trip reports were an excellent way of monitoring who is using pots and how much gear is being fished. A commercial fisherman noted that many recreational fishermen take fish out of the water. If commercial catches must be tracked, so too should the catches of anglers.

Chairman Wise asked Mr. Colvin if, in his view, the catch reporting and recording system is going to provide a good picture of the size and effort level in New York’s commercial fish pot fishery. Mr. Colvin responded that the Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program (ACCSP) standard data reporting requirements are being implemented for commercial fisheries, using trip and dealer reports. Those with New York State foodfish licenses must completely report, as must dealers. Once data entry and editing, along with compliance, is high, there will be better confidence in the completeness of the information provided on commercial fishing effort, including in the commercial pot fishery.

The Council discussed ACCSP’s continued reliance on the Marine Recreational Fishing Survey (MRFSS) as the principal means of tracking marine recreational fishing activity. Mr. Colvin observed that there was substantial disagreement on how MRFSS needs to be implemented in order to secure better and more complete recreational fishery statistics. ACCSP calls for tripling the historic level of MRFSS sampling effort.

Mr. Colvin informed the Council that Bureau of Marine Resources staff were compiling a list of issues that will be addressed through revision to the Part 40 regulations. Among these issues are the need to develop fish pot tagging requirements.

Mr. Young of DEC informed the Council that a public hearing had been held on the proposed changes to crabbing regulations. He distributed a packet of information on the proposed changes, stating that most commenters to date accepted the need for changes in minimum size limits but what the size limits should be is controversial. The proposed regulations specify where crab gear can be set and this drew some attention in the comment record, as did the proposal to limit use of crab dredges to specific areas. Councilor Relyea noted that crabs are predators on shellfish and need to be controlled in areas of shellfish culture. Public comments on the proposals will be complied, evaluated, and presented to the Council at its November 2001 meeting.

In a discussion of a proposal to set a maximum daily allowance of hard clams allowed unlicensed recreational shellfish harvesters, Councilor Yaxa motioned that the Council recommend to DEC the establishment of a marine recreational hard clamming license. It was discussed that significant numbers of individuals harvest clams on a recreational basis and they do not have permits. The motion was defeated; 3 in favor; 8 opposed; 2 abstentions.