Mr. Colvin announced a revised proposal for management of the state’s ocean surf clam fishery. The concept has been discussed with the Department’s Surf Clam/Ocean Quahog Management Advisory Board, as well as with DEC executive staff in Albany. Mr. Colvin described the essence of the new proposal: an individual harvest quota which cannot be transferred or consolidated to another participant. Individuals would be allocated quotas in quarterly increments. Unharvested quotas would rollover into the next quarter and be added to the normal quota for that quarter; the larger quota would then be divided among all license holders. A majority of the Surf Clam/Ocean Quahog Management Advisory Board felt this proposal was more attractive than competing proposals that either allowed quota to be transferred between license holders or that instituted quarterly individual harvest quotas with no rollover of uncaught quota (a.k.a. "use it, or lose it). DEC will formally announce this new approach as the basis of the final management plan; public comment is welcomed. Mr. Wise said that the Council will discuss and take a position on the new proposal at its 15 April 1999 meeting. Mr. Colvin stated said that the proposal had been developed explicitly in response to criticisms of previous DEC surf clam proposals that incorporated transferability of quota, including opposition to these proposals by the Marine Resources Advisory Council.