NEW YORK'S SALTWATER LICENSE TO BE REPEALED

User Fee Will Be Gone in 180 Days - Replaced By Free Registry

New York's saltwater fishing license is being repealed!

According to the Associated Press, New York lawmakers and the Cuomo administration have just reached an agreement to end the state's $10 annual saltwater fishing license and replace it with a free registry for the state's coastal waters.  Legislators announcing the change yesterday say it will cover two years.

The Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) received a "high priority" email sent through DEC channels yesterday afternoon regarding the license repeal, noting that budget discussions between Governor Cuomo and the New York state legislature helped facilitate the repeal effort, which is said will take place in the next 180 days. 

Last Tuesday, March 15th, a Senate Budget Resolution calling for the repeal of the MTA Payroll Tax for public and private schools, as well as full repeal of the saltwater fishing license was passed in the New York Senate.  "I made clear from the beginning of the Budget process that I would not support any new taxes or fees," Sen. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) said last week.

Sen. Zeldin, a Long Island saltwater angler, last month introduced legislation in the New York Senate (S3638) which would amend the environmental conservation law in relation to establishing a registration system for saltwater recreational fishing, essentially repealing that part which mandates that a fee to fish be levied on saltwater anglers.  Under the Senate Budget Resolution passed last week, the saltwater fishing license and fee would end with the expiration of the current 2011 license.  

On Friday, March 18th, a fax campaign was initiated by the RFA and the New York Sportfishing Federation to help garner support from Assemblyman Robert Sweeney (D-Lindenhurst) as chairman of the New York Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee.  According to the Associated Press, Stephen Liss, counsel to Assemblyman Sweeney, said a three-way deal was worked out this past Tuesday night which will be included in the upcoming budget.

The Associated Press reports that an administration official confirmed the agreement, which still must be ratified in the State Budget, which is expected to be approved by April 1.

Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. (I-Sag Harbor), who vehemently opposed the license requirement two years ago, had sponsored legislation ever since to repeal the requirement, including legislation in the current session with Sen. Zeldin (A6169).  Thiele also supported litigation by the Southampton and East Hampton Trustees with five other Long Island Towns which successfully obtained an injunction against the law in the seven Long Island towns.  In a release issued yesterday, Thiele said New York's license law will be transformed into a registration requirement to meet federal law, and noted that this week's agreement also provides that the registration will be guaranteed to be free for the next two years. In addition, those who purchased lifetime licenses will be granted a refund minus the fee for the past year.

"The idea of a saltwater fishing license was ill-conceived from the outset. Not only was it a tax on one of the fundamental rights that Long Island residents have had since colonial times, but it was a burden to the recreational fishing industry at a time when the recession was taking its toll on the local economy. This action will send a message that the State recognizes that the right to fish should be free and that recreational fishing is a critical part of the Long Island economy," Thiele said. 

The RFA said while some state workers may view the bipartisan decision in Albany as a dark day for the public sector, the decision is good news for private sector constituents concerned about the rising cost of bureaucracy. 

"With all due respect to our friends in the public sector, the private sector is fed up with this same old 'pay me now, bill me later' mentality permeating state government," said RFA managing director Jim Hutchinson. "New York's saltwater fishing license was an inferior product from the start, and as consumers, constituents and taxpayers, our state's sportfishermen asked that it be replaced," Hutchinson. 

"We're grateful to all those New York legislators who showed what true bipartisan leadership is all about," Hutchinson said, crediting Governor Cuomo, Sen. Zeldin, Assemblyman Sweeney and Assemblyman Thiele for working together to secure an agreement on behalf of the New York marine district. 

"Those who would impose a user fee on public access are quick to make claims of the privilege of fishing and paying for said privilege, but that's not the way we see things at the RFA," Hutchinson said.  "The vast majority of sportsmen in New York's marine district do not believe that fishing is only a privilege, but instead believe strongly in their right to access this public resource.  The recent legal challenge on the East End helped reconfirm that long-held belief, and we have nothing but praise for those legislators for helped honor that continued coastal tradition, from the Governor's office on out to our Long Island Assembly and Senate leaders, democrats, republicans and independents alike," he said. 

RFA and the New York Sportfishing Federation also wish to thank all those members and friends who participated in this past weekend's fax campaign to spread the word about the repeal efforts, which they believe made a significant impact in getting the license repeal through. 

Bill is sponsored by New York Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, and by North Carolina Senators Kay Hagan and Richard Burr.

Senators say legislation will help save fishing industry by increasing flexibility in arbitrary Federal fishing rules.

According to Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, Long Island's once thriving commercial and recreational fishing industry has been decimated in part by quotas and inexact science, severely limiting catch and allowable fishing days. Their bill would increase flexibility of quotas. Long Island is losing millions every year because of excessively strict quotas. Schumer, Gillibrand say that with flexibility and better data we can rebuild stocks and allow Long Island's fishing industry to survive.

Senators Schumer and Gillibrand released the following statement:

WASHINGTON - March 23, 2011 - Today, United States Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten E. Gillibrand announced they have reintroduced legislation in the Senate that will bring much-needed flexibility to the federal rules now stifling Long Island's once thriving commercial and recreational fishing industry.

The bill is co-sponsored by North Carolina Senators Kay Hagan and Richard Burr.

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, as it is presently written, requires any fishery designated by the Department of Commerce's National Marine Fisheries Service as "overfished" be completely rebuilt within 10 years, a timeline Schumer and Gillibrand argued is arbitrary and forces regulators to implement overly strict fishing quotas. The lack of flexibility in the current regime prevents regulators from pursuing a more balanced approach that both allows the stocks to rebuild and considers the economic consequences to fishermen and fishing communities. The Senators' bill would give some much needed flexibility to the ten-year timeline as a way to ease pressure on fishermen and their communities as fisheries continue to rebuild.

"Rebuilding our fishing stocks and keeping them healthy is absolutely critical, but we shouldn't do it in a way that places an onerous, unnecessary burden on Long Island fishermen," said Schumer. "By increasing flexibility and common sense in our fishing regulations, we can protect fishing stocks and at the same time help Long Island fishing communities prosper."

"Right now our fishermen are dealing with a regulatory structure that relies on arbitrary timelines and bureaucrats hundreds of miles away from fishing communities and not science and fact," said Senator Gillibrand. "This legislation is a step towards repairing a broken system."

Schumer and Gillibrand have also strongly advocated for more funding for data collection to more accurately gauge fish stocks. In letters to the Department of Commerce and National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration, as well as meetings with agency heads, they have called for greater emphasis on fisheries science and better funding for data collection. In cases where there is insufficient data on a fish stock, regulators must err on the side of caution and implement stricter catch limits.

Under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Management Act - reauthorized by Congress in 2006 -- when a fishery is identified as overfished, a Regional Fishery Management Council has two years to implement a plan to end overfishing, and, with limited exceptions, to rebuild the stock within 10 years. The ten-year rebuilding requirement has three exceptions, based on the biology of the fish, environmental conditions, or an agreement between the U.S. and other nations. Other than those three situations, all overfished fisheries must achieve rebuilt status within 10 years. The problem is the ten-year deadline is arbitrary, may have no basis in science, and must be met without regard to the impact it will have on recreational and commercial fishermen, related industries, and the communities.

The Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act will provide the U.S. Secretary of Commerce authority to allow limited flexibility in the rebuilding mandates, but only if one of the following conditions apply:

• The biology of the stock of fish, other environmental conditions, or management measures under an international agreement, in which the United States participates dictates otherwise.

• The Secretary determines that the 10-year period should be extended because the cause of the fishery decline is outside the jurisdiction of the Council or the rebuilding program cannot be effective only by limiting fishing activities.

• The Secretary determines an extension would provide for the sustained participation of fishing communities or would minimize the economic impacts on such communities, provided that there is evidence that the stock of fish is on a positive rebuilding trend.

• The Secretary determines that the 10-year period should be extended for one or more stocks of fish of a multi-species fishery, provided that there is evidence that those stocks are on a positive rebuilding trend.

• The Secretary determines an expansion is necessary because of a substantial change to the biomass rebuilding target for the stock of fish concerned after the rebuilding plan has taken effect.

• The Secretary determines an expansion is necessary because the biomass rebuilding target exceeds the highest abundance of the stock of fish in the 25 year period preceding and there is evidence that the stock is on a positive rebuilding trend.

Schumer and Gillibrand said that the legislation will also add additional criteria to the biomass stock assessment mandated in the Magnuson Stevens Act to include commercial, residential and industrial development, agricultural activity in coastal areas and its impact on the marine environment and the relationship between predator and prey and other environmental and ecological changes to the marine conditions.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced that it is accepting proposals under the Mid-

Atlantic Council's Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program for research activities to be conducted in 2012.

Applications must be received by NMFS on or before 5 p.m. EST on March 7, 2011.

The Council, in coordination with NMFS and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, may set

aside up to 3 percent of the total allowable landings (TAL) in certain Mid-Atlantic fisheries to be used

for research endeavors. The RSA program provides a mechanism to fund research and compensate

vessel owners through the sale of fish harvested under the research quota. Vessels participating in an

approved research project may be authorized by the NMFS Northeast Regional Administrator to harvest

and land species in excess of any imposed trip limit or during fishery closures. Landings from such trips

are sold to generate funds that help defray the costs associated with the approved research projects. No

Federal funds are provided for research under this notification.

NMFS is soliciting proposals for research activities concerning the summer flounder, scup, black sea

bass, Loligo squid, Illex squid, Atlantic mackerel, butterfish, bluefish, and tilefish fisheries. NMFS and

the Council will give priority to funding proposals addressing the research needs as follows:

2012 Research Priority List

Spanning Multiple Species

- Fishery independent surveys for all Mid-Atlantic species, especially in the near shore zone (as

provided by the Northeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program-NEAMAP).

Interactions Between Loligo Squid, Butterfish, Atlantic Mackerel & River Herring

- Evaluate potential improvements to observer sampling procedures on catches of butterfish and River

Herring in the Loligo fishery, and River Herring in the mackerel fishery.

- Mesh selectivity studies involving Loligo squid retention and butterfish escapement (both summer and

winter).

- Test gear modifications (in addition to mesh size) in the Loligo squid fishery to reduce bycatch of

butterfish and other species. One example would be the use of 'Fishing Circle Mesh.'

- Study mortality rates of Loligo squid that pass through trawl mesh.

- Use of videography in documenting Loligo catches without any or minimal butterfish bycatch.

- Investigate accuracy and precision of observer monitoring of (at-sea and/or port) catches of butterfish,

river herrings, and shads in the Atlantic mackerel and squid fisheries.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PRESS CONTACT: Kathy Collins

January 11, 2011 (302) 674-2331 x253

Summer Flounder

- Evaluate the size distribution of landed and discarded fish in the summer flounder recreational fishery

by sex. This could be considered for all catch components, which would include the commercial

fishery.

Bluefish

- Evaluate amount and length frequency of discards from the commercial and recreational fisheries.

- Collect size and age composition of the fisheries by gear type and statistical area.

- Initiate fishery-dependent and independent sampling of offshore populations of bluefish during the

winter months (consider migration, seasonal fisheries and unique selectivity patterns resulting in a

bimodal partial recruitment pattern; consider if the migratory pattern results in several recruitment

events).

- Develop bluefish index surveys (proof of concept), including abundance/biomass trend estimates for

the offshore populations in winter.

Black Sea Bass

- Validate methods used to age black sea bass (scales vs. otoliths).

- Studies focused on life history and reproductive behaviors such as changes in sex ratio as a function of

age and size or the evaluation of the sizes of territories in relation to mating or reproduction.

- Increase age sampling across all components of the commercial and recreational fisheries.

- Increase sea sampling to verify information from commercial logbooks toward providing better

estimates of discards.

- Develop a fixed gear survey of black sea bass similar to the one developed for scup.

Scup

- Develop indices for scup ages 2+.

- Estimate the fishery components used to calculate scup mortality (commercial and recreational

landings, and discards).

- Expand age sampling of scup from commercial and recreational catches, with special emphasis on the

aging of large specimens.

Illex squid

- Determine size and age-at-maturity and growth parameters for Illex squid.

Tilefish

- Effect of hook size on tilefish size selectivity in the longline fishery.

Fishermen Cry Foul

FORTESCUE INLET, N.J. - The Coast Guard and a Good Samaritan rescued three people Friday five miles southeast of Fortescue Inlet, N.J., after their 22-foot boat was taking on water and sank.

The Coast Guard received a call at 10:04 a.m. from a crew member aboard the Big Trout reporting they were taking on water. A Good Samaritan aboard the Serenity reported to the Coast Guard they rescued two of the three people from the water.

A rescue boat crew from Coast Guard Station Fortescue Inlet, and a rescue helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City, N.J., arrived on scene.

 The boat crew rescued the remaining person from the water at approximatley 11:00 a.m.

All three people were transferred to the Coast Guard boat and transported to Anchor Marina in Maurice River, N.J.

No injuries were reported.

"It is always a good idea to make sure all your gear is in working order before you leave the dock," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Joshua Cooklin, a crew member aboard the rescue boat. "Their GPS was not functioning properly, and it took a little longer to find them."