Section 13-0308. Surf clam/ocean quahog management advisory board

1.  There  is  hereby  created  a  surf  clam/ocean  quahog management
  advisory board hereinafter referred to as the  board.  The  board  shall
  consist  of  nine members, who shall be appointed by the commissioner in
  the following manner. The commissioner shall select three  members;  the
  commissioner shall select three members from a list of nominees prepared
  and   submitted  by  the  president  pro  tem  of  the  senate  and  the
  commissioner shall select three members from a list of nominees prepared
  and submitted by the speaker of the assembly. All members of  the  board
  shall  either  have knowledge of the surf clam/ocean quahog industry who
  have demonstrated a long-standing interest, knowledge and experience  in
  commercial  harvesting  and/or  processing  of surf clam/ocean quahog or
  shall be involved in scientific research into  the  fishery.  The  chair
  shall  be  the  director  of  the Marine Sciences Research Center, State
  University of New York at Stony Brook or his designee, and shall have no
  vote on matters before the board.
    2. All the members appointed shall be  residents  of  a  county  which
  borders  on  the  marine  and  coastal district. No members of the board
  appointed by the commissioner shall be officers or employees of a  state
  department  or  agency  and  at  no  time  shall there be less than five
  members of the board who shall be representatives of the surf clam/ocean
  quahog industry. No member of the board may appoint a designee to either
  temporarily or permanently assume their place on the board.
    3. Appointments to the board shall be made no later than the first day
  of January next succeeding  the  date  on  which  this  section  becomes
  effective. Initial appointments to the surf clam/ocean quahog management
  advisory  board  shall  be  made no later than the first day of January,
  nineteen hundred ninety-five, and shall be effective  upon  appointment.
  The  initial  appointments  of members of the board shall be as follows:
  three shall be appointed for terms expiring  on  December  thirty-first,
  nineteen  hundred  ninety-five;  three  shall  be  appointed  for  terms
  expiring on December  thirty-first,  nineteen  hundred  ninety-six;  and
  three  shall  be  appointed for terms expiring on December thirty-first,
  nineteen hundred ninety-seven. Such members may be  reappointed  at  the
  expiration  of  such  initial  terms for full three year terms. Upon the
  expiration of a member's term of appointment, such  member  may  opt  to
  continue  to  serve  until  reappointment  or a replacement is appointed
  pursuant to subdivision one of this section. Any vacancy shall be filled
  in the manner of the original appointment.
    4. The members of the board shall serve without compensation for their
  services as members of the board, except that each of the members  shall
  be   allowed  their  necessary  and  actual  expenses  incurred  in  the
  performance of their duties under this section.
    5. Board members shall not be considered public officers for  purposes
  of  section  seventy-three-a of the public officers law and shall not be
  subject to the financial disclosure as provided in such section,  except
  that, every board member shall disclose all business activity engaged in
  with the state.
    6.  The  commissioner  shall  make  documents  accessible  pursuant to
  section eighty-seven of the public officers law and department personnel
  available to the board which the board indicates are needed to  properly
  and  thoroughly  carry  out its responsibilities. The commissioner shall
  also make available to the board such aid as is reasonably necessary  to
  allow the board to carry out its duties and responsibilities.
    7. The board shall have the following powers and duties:
    a.  To  assist  the department in the development and preparation of a
  comprehensive long-term management  plan  for  the  protection  of  surf
  clams/ocean  quahogs  in  New  York  waters.  The  plan  shall take into

  consideration the economic viability of the  long-standing,  established
  New  York  based  participants in the surf clam/ocean quahog fishery and
  the domestic processors and packers that rely on this fishery within one
  year of the date on which this section becomes effective;
    b. To serve as a working forum for the review of data collection needs
  and  scientific  information and the exchange of views, concerns, ideas,
  information  and  recommendations  about  the  surf  clam/ocean   quahog
  resource and fishery;
    c.  To  request and receive from the department at each meeting of the
  board information in the possession of the  department  about  the  surf
  clam/ocean  quahog resource and fishery, existing and proposed revisions
  to any rule, regulation or policy relative to surf clams/ocean  quahogs.
  Fisheries  data  collected  by  the  department shall be provided by the
  department in aggregate or summary  form  which  does  not  directly  or
  indirectly  disclose  the identity or business of any person who submits
  such data;
    d. To consult with and make reports and release information from  time
  to  time  as  it  deems  necessary  to  commercial  harvesters  of  surf
  clams/ocean quahogs; and
    e. To monitor, assist and advise the department's  efforts  to  draft,
  revise  and  implement  regulations  consistent  with  the comprehensive
  long-term management plan.
    8. a. The board shall meet at least monthly  until  the  comprehensive
  long  term management plan for surf clams/ocean quahogs is developed and
  enacted. Thereafter, the board shall meet as  necessary  to  assist  the
  department  in  the adoption and implementation of rules and regulations
  consistent with the comprehensive long term management plan, but in  any
  case, the board shall meet at least quarterly.
    b.  The  board  shall keep a record of all its proceedings and provide
  such record to the public upon request and determine the  rules  of  its
  own procedures.
    c.  Staff services, including recording of board proceedings, shall be
  performed by personnel of the department.
    9. Nothing shall prohibit the department  from  adopting  pursuant  to
  subdivision  twelve  of  section  13-0309  of  this  article, interim or
  emergency regulations  pending  the  preparation  of  the  comprehensive
  long-term  management  plan  and adoption of regulations consistent with
  such plan, provided that such interim or emergency regulations  consider
  and  maintain  the economic viability of the traditional established New
  York  based  commercial  surf  clam/ocean  quahog  harvesting   industry
  participants  and New York surf clam/ocean quahog processors and packers
  that  rely  on  this  fishery.  For  the  purposes   of   this   section
  "traditional" shall mean prior to nineteen hundred eighty-nine.