ENV-08-08-00003-A Recreational Harvest and Possession of Tautog
6/18/08 N.Y. St. Reg. ENV-08-08-00003-A
NEW YORK STATE REGISTER
VOLUME XXX, ISSUE 25
June 18, 2008
RULE MAKING ACTIVITIES
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
NOTICE OF ADOPTION
I.D No. ENV-08-08-00003-A
Filing No. 524
Filing Date. May. 30, 2008
Effective Date. Jun. 18, 2008
Recreational Harvest and Possession of Tautog
PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following action:
Action taken:
Amendment of Part 40 of Title 6 NYCRR.
Statutory authority:
Environmental Conservation Law, sections 3-0301, 13-0105 and 13-0340-d
Subject:
Recreational harvest and possession of tautog.
Purpose:
To control recreational harvest of tautog consistent with the fishery management plan.
Text or summary was published
in the notice of emergency/proposed rule making, I.D. No. ENV-08-08-00003-EP, Issue of February 20, 2008.
Final rule as compared with last published rule:
No changes.
Text of rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:
Stephen W. Heins, Department of Environmental Conservation, 205 N. Belle Mead Rd., Suite 1, East Setauket, NY 11733-3400, (631) 444-0435, e-mail: swheins@gw.dec.state.ny.us
Assessment of Public Comment
Question #13: This proposed rule making, which amends New York's regulations for recreational harvest of tautog, was published in the New York State Register on February 20, 2008. The proposed amendment reduced the possession limit from 10 fish to 4, and shortened the season in the tautog recreational fishery by 58 days.
The department received 42 written comments (41 email, one letter) from a total of 41 individuals during the public comment period for this rule making. Most of the comments expressed concern about the fairness of the proposed amendment. One person supported the proposal as published. The comments are summarized below, followed by the department's response:
1. Comment: The four-fish possession limit will negatively impact long-range party/charter vessel trips. The individual commenting owns and operates a fleet of party and charter vessels operating out of Montauk. They make 12-15 trips per year to “Blackfish Haven,” about 65 miles from Montauk in the federal Exclusive Economic Zone. He stated that they would be unable to attract customers to pay $135 to make a 15-hour boat trip for only 4 blackfish and requests that they be allowed to take twice the possession limit on these trips.
Department response: The department regrets that this regulation will have the stated impact, but finds it is necessary in order to achieve the reduction in exploitation of the tautog population required under the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's (ASMFC) Tautog Fishery Management Plan (FMP).
2. Comment: The proposed regulations impose cuts in the recreational fishery only, which is unfair. The illegal and unreported sales of live tautog are responsible for the overharvest, not the recreational fishery. Thirty-eight form emails were received with these comments, as were a letter and an additional email that covered the same points.
Department response: The department is obligated to comply with requirements of the ASMFC Tautog FMP, which require all states with a tautog fishery to achieve a 29 percent reduction in fishery exploitation in order to recover tautog stocks. These stocks are slowly recovering, but the rate of recovery is insufficient to reach management goals. The recreational fishery in New York accounts for nearly 90 percent of the reported harvest of this fish. The legal commercial fishery is heavily restricted and further reductions were not considered warranted at this time. The department is aware, however, that other sources of fishing mortality are not documented and may be making a significant contribution to overall mortality for tautog stocks, such as sale of short fish, illegal commercialization, and the use of tautog as live bait. The department is preparing recommendations for ways to reduce or eliminate these sources of mortality.
