Bill Text: NY S04341 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to the harvesting of Jonah crabs; provides a holder of a commercial crab permit shall not exceed the bycatch limit of Jonah crab unless they request a special permit.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-05-17 - referred to environmental conservation [S04341 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S04341-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4341

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 3, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sen. KAMINSKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation

        AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation  to  the
          harvesting of Jonah crabs

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Subdivision 1  of  section  13-0331  of  the  environmental
     2  conservation  law,  as  amended  by  chapter 447 of the laws of 2017, is
     3  amended and a new subdivision 1-a is added to read as follows:
     4    1. No person shall take crabs, including horseshoe crabs (Limulus sp.)
     5  for commercial purposes  without  first  obtaining  a  permit  from  the
     6  department.  For purposes of this subdivision, a presumption of "commer-
     7  cial purposes" shall be made wherein one takes or lands more than  fifty
     8  crabs  in  any  one day or sells or barters or offers for sale or barter
     9  any crabs he or she has taken.   A holder of a  commercial  crab  permit
    10  shall  not  exceed  the  bycatch  limit  of  Jonah crab specified by the
    11  department. Permits shall be issued  to  individuals  only  but  may  be
    12  endorsed  for  use on a vessel, in which case it shall cover all persons
    13  on board such vessel.
    14    1-a. Notwithstanding subdivision one of this section, a holder of  any
    15  New York commercial lobster license may take and land Jonah crab (Cancer
    16  borealis)  for  commercial purposes. Jonah crab harvested by crab permit
    17  holders who can demonstrate a landings history above the  bycatch  limit
    18  prior  to  June second, two thousand fifteen, documented by either state
    19  or federal vessel trip reports may request  a  special  permit  to  take
    20  Jonah  crabs above the bycatch limit. Jonah crabs harvested by any other
    21  legal method for taking lobsters or crabs shall comply  with  the  take,
    22  landing,  and  possession  limits  pursuant  to  subdivision one of this
    23  section.
    24    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08810-01-1