Mr. Byron Young of DEC explained to the Council that the Department has developed a set of emergency regulations for recreational fishing for 2005.  They are as follows:

Fluke – 17" size minimum size limit, 5-fish possession limit, open season of 4/29 – 10/31.

Scup – 10" minimum size limit, 25-fish possession limit (except that anglers aboard "for hire" vessels fishing from 01 September  – 31 October 31 may retain 60 fish), open season 7/1-10/31.

Black Seabass – 12" minimum size limit, 25-fish possession limit; open season of 1/1 – 11/30. 

Striped Bass – limits are 1 fish between 28-40" and 1 fish greater than 40" except that fares on "for hire" vessel may retain 2 fish at a 28" minimum size, open season of 4/15 – 12/15. 

Bluefish – possession limit is 15, no more than 10 of which can be less than 12"

These emergency regulations are in effect for 120 days, and an extension can be requested.  The precise effective date of the new regulations is unavailable at this time but it is imminent.  Mr. Young noted that, once the emergency rules become effective, a 45-day public comment period on them begins.  The Department will eventually decide or not to adopt these regulations permanently, based in part on the comment record.

Mr. Peter Puccininni, a "for hire" vessel operator in western Long Island Sound, was very upset with the emergency regulations, especially those for scup (porgy) because he felt they would severely hurt his business and he was not afforded an opportunity to comment on them before they were sent to Albany

Mr. Pat Augustine, an ASMFC Commissioner, and Mr. Young responded that the scup regulations were part of a regional approach to managing this species that was developed and agreed to by New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, under which the five states agreement to adopt identical regulations.  On this basis, New York cannot adopt different regulations for different areas of the Marine District.  They acknowledged that fishermen from western Long Island might be disadvantaged under the proposed emergency regulations, but the alternative was to develop state-by-state regulations, which would be more onerous  to a larger number of fishermen in central and East End waters.

Mr. Mike Barnett of Codfather Charters and several others in the audience expressed skepticism that Massachusetts would ever agree to a recreational scup season that opened on July 1st.   Mr.

Dennis Kanyuk said that Massachusetts has had one public meeting on scup and will have another one soon.  They are and open season of May 15th – September 15th, with a possession limit of 60 fish from May 15th- July 15th and 25 for the rest of the season. 

 

Page last modified Friday, April 15, 2005 by George E. Carroll