Section 13-0333. Menhaden; license; prohibited acts

1.  Menhaden  (Brevoortia  tyrannus)  from  which oil or meal is made,
  subject to the provisions of section 13-0343,  may  be  taken  from  the
  waters  of  the marine district with a purse seine provided a license is
  first obtained from the department.
    2. Each license shall be issued to  cover  one  vessel  and  pertinent
  equipment  by  which such fish are taken and shall be issued in the name
  of the owner, lessee or operator of each vessel so  used.  License  fees
  shall  be  computed  on  the  basis of gross tonnage of the vessel to be
  licensed as indicated in the document, certificate of  award,  register,
  registration,  enrollment or license of such vessel issued by the United
  States or any state.
    3. The license fee shall be: For each vessel:
 
  30 gross tons or less                           25 dollars
  more than 30 gross tons and less than
  200 gross tons                                  500 dollars
  more than 200 gross tons                      2,000 dollars
 
  All licenses issued under this section shall expire on December 31
  following date of issue.
    4. For the purpose of this chapter, commercial menhaden  purse  seines
  may not be used or set:
    a.  in  the  area  of Long Island Sound extending west of an imaginary
  line from the New York state-Connecticut  boundary  line  (Byram  River)
  extending easterly and southerly to buoy 13 (off Eaton's Neck).
    b. in Long Island Sound south of a straight line one-half mile seaward
  of  a  straight  line between buoy 13 (off Eaton's Neck) and buoy 9 (off
  Sound Beach).
    Distances shall be determined from straight lines  drawn  between  the
  designated buoys and navigational aids.
    5.  No  person  shall take menhaden by purse seining except during the
  period commencing on the Monday following the fourth  day  of  July  and
  ending  on  the  third  Friday in October.   Nothing in this subdivision
  shall be construed as legalizing the taking of menhaden by purse seining
  on weekends or legal holidays during the period  provided  for  in  this
  subdivision.
    6.  The  department shall, in consultation with the menhaden industry,
  have the authority to require menhaden purse seine vessels  to  carry  a
  department-approved  observer  during  their operation in New York state
  waters.  Beginning  July  sixth,  nineteen  hundred  ninety-eight,   the
  department  shall  require  menhaden  purse  seine  vessels  equal to or
  greater than two hundred  gross  tons  to  carry  a  department-approved
  observer during their operation in New York state waters. Such observers
  shall  independently  note  and  record  information, as directed by the
  department, on such items as fishing location, menhaden catch, by-catch,
  and any user conflicts. The license holder for the vessel for  which  an
  observer is required will be responsible for the costs of such observer.
  The  department  shall  promulgate  rules  and  regulations to establish
  appropriate procedures for the assessment and collection  of  costs  for
  the observers.
    7.  The  operator of a menhaden purse seine vessel shall report to the
  department twenty-four hours prior to entering the waters of  the  state
  and  shall submit to the department a regular and timely report of their
  total harvest.  The department shall develop regulations six months from
  the effective  date  of  this  subdivision  related  to  this  reporting
  requirement.

    8.   The   department  shall,  in  cooperation  with  the  Connecticut
  Department of Environmental Protection  and  consistent  with  the  Long
  Island Sound Bi-state committee resolution regarding commercial menhaden
  fishing,  undertake a water quality assessment of the effect of menhaden
  vessel  fish  hold  waste  on  Long  Island  Sound  water quality.   The
  department shall report back within one year of the  effective  date  of
  this subdivision thereon to the governor, the temporary president of the
  senate,  the speaker of the assembly, and the chairmen of the senate and
  assembly environmental conservation committees  with  its  findings  and
  recommendations  for  reducing  or  eliminating  the  adverse aesthetic,
  ecological, and water quality impacts of said discharge.
    9. Licensees shall be legally  and  financially  responsible  for  the
  clean  up  of  fish lost during any fishing or fish handling operations.
  The department shall establish regulations to enforce this subdivision.
    10. The department shall adopt  regulations  to  prohibit  or  further
  limit  menhaden  fishing  when  required  by,  and  consistent with, the
  Interstate  Fishery  Management  plan  for  Atlantic  menhaden   adopted
  pursuant  to the Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 USC 1800 et
  seq.) and adopted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
    11. The department, in cooperation with the Connecticut Department  of
  Environmental  Protection  and  consistent  with  the  Long Island Sound
  Bi-state committee resolution  regarding  commercial  menhaden  fishing,
  shall  evaluate  the appropriateness and effectiveness of establishing a
  limit on the number of purse seine vessels that may be allowed  to  fish
  on  Long  Island  Sound.  The  department shall, in cooperation with the
  Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and  consistent  with
  the Long Island Sound Bi-state committee resolution regarding commercial
  menhaden   fishing,   evaluate   the   benefits   and  effectiveness  of
  establishing a cap on the quantity of menhaden  that  can  be  harvested
  from   Long   Island  Sound  in  one  year.  The  department  shall,  in
  consultation with the menhaden fishing industry,  investigate  means  of
  regulating the depth at which menhaden purse seines are set with respect
  to  the depth of the water in their respective locations. The department
  shall, in cooperation with the Connecticut Department  of  Environmental
  Protection  and consistent with the Long Island Sound Bi-state committee
  resolution regarding commercial menhaden fishing, provide  a  report  of
  its  findings and recommendations thereon to the governor, the temporary
  president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, and  the  chairmen
  of  the senate and assembly environmental conservation committees within
  one year of the effective date of this subdivision.