Section 13-0343. Nets other than trawls; restrictions on use of nets and trawls  


Latest version.
  • 1. Nets other than trawls shall not be placed, maintained or  used  in
      any  of  the  following waters except: (a) as permitted by this section;
      (b) landing nets may be used in completing the catch of fish  hooked  by
      angling;  and  (c)  cast nets, not in excess of twenty feet in diameter,
      operated by hand may be  used  to  take  Atlantic  menhaden  (Brevoortia
      tyrannus)  and  mullets  (Mugil  spp), except in the waters described in
      subdivisions four, eight and twelve of this section.  The  use  of  cast
      nets shall be limited to one per boat.
        2.  In  the  waters  of  the marine district in the county of Richmond
      purse seines may not be used to take menhaden when operated from  boats;
      and  nets  of not more than ten feet in length, operated by hand, may be
      used to take minnows and shrimp for bait.
        3. In the Harlem River and the  East  River  east  of  the  Robert  F.
      Kennedy  Bridge  and  in  Long  Island  Sound  west of a line drawn from
      Hewlett's (King's) Point to the north end of Hart Island, thence to  the
      south  end of Glen Island, and in their adjacent bays, coves, creeks and
      confluent waters, only such nets as are used to take lobsters  or  crabs
      may be used.
        4.  In  the Nissequogue River fish may be taken by angling only except
      that nets of not more than twenty feet in length and four feet in depth,
      operated by hand, may be used to take bait fish  during  daylight  hours
      only.
        5.  a.  In  the  inland  tidal waters within the town of Hempstead, no
      person shall at any time engage in eel  dredging  by  the  use  of  nets
      accompanied by cutting boards, chains or other similar devices.
        b. In the inland tidal waters within the town of Hempstead westerly of
      the  Wantagh State Parkway causeway, nets shall not be used except nets,
      not over forty feet long and four feet deep, may be used to take minnows
      or shrimp for bait.
        6. In Jamaica Bay and its adjacent creeks,  inlets  and  basins,  nets
      shall  not  be  used inshore of a line from the beacon at Rockaway Point
      jetty to the municipal bath houses on Coney Island, except that  minnows
      and  shrimp  may be taken by hand nets not over forty feet long and four
      feet deep and except that nets  other  than  trawls  may  be  used  from
      October  10 to December 31 in that part of such area southerly of a line
      from the lighted beacon at Manhattan Beach to the most  southerly  point
      on  Barren  Island  and  westerly  of  the  Marine Parkway bridge across
      Rockaway Inlet.
        7. In Gravesend Bay, and in the Atlantic Ocean within one-half mile of
      the shore from Norton's point to the  municipal  bath  houses  on  Coney
      Island  and  within  one-half  mile of the shore from the Rockaway Inlet
      jetty at Rockaway Point to the  East  Rockaway  Inlet  jetty  at  Silver
      Point, nets shall not be used except as follows:
        a.  To  take minnows or shrimp for bait, hand nets not more than forty
      feet long and four feet deep.
        b. To take eels, spears and eel weirs.
        c. To take menhaden, vessels of forty tons or less register using nets
      other than trawls, except where prohibited by  subdivision  13  of  this
      section.
        8. In the Carmans river, Suffolk county.
        a.  Nets  shall  not be used in the river north of a line running from
      the most southerly point of land within the Wertheim  National  Wildlife
      Refuge on the western shore of the river easterly to the point where the
      southern boundary of the refuge meets the eastern shore of the river.
        b. Eel pots shall not be used north of the point where Beaver Dam road
      (Brookhaven  avenue) meets the river. Between the point where Beaver Dam
    
      road meets the river and the line  described  in  paragraph  a  of  this
      subdivision eel pots may be used only to take eels.
        9.  In  Jones'  Inlet,  nets,  except haul seines of not more than one
      hundred twenty feet in length and six feet in depth used  to  take  bait
      fish  or crustacea, shall not be used inshore from an east and west line
      drawn from a point one-half mile  southerly  of  the  municipal  bathing
      pavilion  at  Point  Lookout,  thence  easterly to a point one-half mile
      southerly of the Short Beach Coast Guard tower. The inshore boundary  of
      the  Jones' Inlet area closed to certain netting shall be the bridges of
      the Loop and Meadowbrook Parkway.
        10. In Fire Island Inlet, nets, except during the period of time  from
      April  first  through  May thirty-first haul seines of not more than one
      hundred seventy-five feet in length and twenty feet  in  depth  used  to
      take  bait  fish or crustacea, shall not be used inshore of a line drawn
      from the sea end of the government jetty at Democrat Point to  the  town
      of  Babylon bathing pavilion at Cedar Island Beach. The inshore boundary
      of the Fire Island Inlet area closed to certain  netting  shall  be  the
      Robert Moses bridge to Fire Island.
        11.  Nets shall not be used in Moriches inlet, Shinnecock Inlet and in
      Mecox Inlet nor in the Atlantic Ocean within one-half mile of the shores
      thereof for a distance of one-half mile measured east and west along the
      beach from the east and west shores of the  seaward  entrances  to  such
      inlets.  The  department,  for  law  enforcement  purposes,  may  in its
      discretion erect suitable markers on the beach at the limit points.
        12. In the Connetquoit River nets shall not be used.
        13. In the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Fire  Island  Inlet,  nets
      shall not be used within one thousand feet of the beach between Rockaway
      Inlet  Jetty  at  Rockaway  Point  and  the headland extending into Fire
      Island Inlet known as the "sore thumb".
        14. In the county of Suffolk.
        a. In the waters lying westerly of an imaginary line  extending  in  a
      general  southerly  direction  from Leaves Point in Southold town to Hay
      Beach Point in Shelter  Island,  and  a  line  extending  in  a  general
      northeasterly  direction from Mashomack Point in Shelter Island to Cedar
      Point at the eastern entrance to Sag Harbor.
        (1) haul seines shall not be used measuring  over  one  hundred  fifty
      fathoms  in  length,  attached to which may be two wings, each measuring
      not more than one hundred fifty fathoms in length with a stretched  mesh
      size including knot of not less than three and one-quarter inches in one
      wing and three and one-half inches in the other wing;
        (2)  the  use  of  haul seines is prohibited from midnight Thursday to
      6:00 P.M. Sunday.
        (3) when permitted by the commissioner, pound or trap nets may be used
      in the waters described in paragraph a of this subdivision provided they
      do not interfere with or obstruct navigation  or  the  carrying  out  of
      shellfish  culture  as  provided in this chapter. Any such pound or trap
      nets shall be marked in accordance with requirements prescribed  by  the
      commissioner.
        b.  Waste  fish  shall  not be left on shore or within the waters five
      hundred feet from shore.
        15. a. Nets shall not  be  used  in  Long  Island  sound  west  of  an
      imaginary  line  from  the  New  York-Connecticut  boundary  shore  line
      extending easterly and southerly to Eaton's Point Neck  on  Long  Island
      from  April 1 to November 1, nor at any time in the waters of Huntington
      Bay,  Lloyd  Harbor,  Northport  Bay  or  Coldspring  Harbor;  provided,
      however,  that  hand nets not more than forty feet long and four feet in
      width may be used to take minnows and shrimp for bait, at any time.
    
        b. Gill nets shall not be used in Long Island  Sound  or  in  harbors,
      bays  or  other  waters  adjacent  thereto  west  of  an  imaginary line
      extending north from the easterly boundary of the town of Brookhaven  on
      the  north  shore  of  Long Island in the county of Suffolk. However, as
      permitted  under  subdivision  ten of section 13-0329 of this chapter, a
      holder of a commercial lobster license may use no more than one gill net
      not longer than three hundred feet with a stretched  mesh  size  between
      three  and  one-half inches and four and one-quarter inches to take bait
      fish between April 1 and November 15 during each weekly period beginning
      6:00 p.m., Sunday, through 9:00 a.m. Friday,  providing  that  each  net
      will  be  buoyed  on  each  end  and  identified  with  the  permittee's
      commercial lobster license number. The net shall be fished with the  top
      not less than four feet below the surface of the water.
        16.  Unless  permitted  by  statute,  or  licensed or permitted by the
      department, nets shall not be possessed by any person in or on waters of
      the marine district, in the following instances:
        a. Nets of metallic fabric shall not be possessed in or on any  waters
      or within one-half mile thereof;
        b.  In  waters  where  use of trawls is prohibited by section 13-0341,
      such trawls shall not be possessed in the  waters  where  their  use  is
      prohibited, or during any time when such use is so prohibited;
        c. In waters where use of nets other than trawls, or use of trawls; is
      prohibited  by this section, the nets, or trawls, as the case may be, or
      nets of the kind or kinds prohibited, shall  not  be  possessed  in  the
      waters where their use is prohibited or during any time when such use is
      prohibited,  except  that  where  a  provision of this section expressly
      specifies a lesser distance  from  the  water  in  which  possession  is
      prohibited, this section does not enlarge the distance from the water in
      which such possession is prohibited.
        d.  Nothing  in  this  subdivision  shall  be construed as prohibiting
      commercial fishing vessels sailing to or from offshore  fishing  grounds
      from  carrying  on  board  fishing gear that may legally be used in such
      offshore waters even though they must pass through waters where the  use
      of such gear is otherwise prohibited.
        17.  Within  three nautical miles of the Atlantic coastline and in all
      other tidal waters within the state, the use of purse seines for  taking
      food fish is prohibited.
        18. Nets and seines measuring more than twenty-five feet in length and
      four feet in depth shall not be used in the waters of Oyster Bay Harbor.
        19.  a. Gill or trammel nets set or operated in the marine and coastal
      district shall be marked at each end with an orange flag at least twelve
      inches square attached to a mast rising above the surface of  the  water
      at least five feet. Nets operated after dark shall have orange and white
      reflective  tape  attached  to  the  mast  for a minimum one foot length
      immediately below the flag.
        b. No gill or trammel net shall be set or operated in the  marine  and
      coastal district within one thousand feet of a pound or trap net.
        c.  Except  in  the  waters  of the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island Sound,
      Tiana Bay, Shinnecock Bay, Mecox Bay,  Quantuck  Bay,  that  portion  of
      Moriches  Bay within the town of Southampton, and the marine and coastal
      waters lying easterly of  an  imaginary  line  extending  in  a  general
      southerly  direction  from  Cleaves Point in the town of Southold to Hay
      Beach Point in Shelter  Island,  and  a  line  extending  in  a  general
      northeasterly  direction from Mashomack Point in Shelter Island to Cedar
      Point at the eastern entrance to Sag Harbor,  no  gill  or  trammel  net
      shall  be  set  in  the  waters  of the marine and coastal district from
      sunset Friday to sunrise Monday during the period from  April  first  to
      November first.
    
        d.  Gill  or  trammel  nets set or operated in the waters of the Great
      South Bay shall not exceed twelve hundred feet in length. In addition to
      the requirements in  paragraph  a  of  this  subdivision,  nets  set  or
      operated  in  the Great South Bay shall display surface markers at least
      every  one  hundred  feet.  No  gill  or trammel net shall be set in the
      waters of the Great South Bay from May  first  until  May  thirty-first,
      inclusive.  For  the purposes of this subdivision, Great South Bay shall
      mean the waters extending east from Wantagh State Parkway to  the  Smith
      Point Bridge and southwest to the Robert Moses Inlet Bridge.
        e.  Those  gill and trammel nets set in the waters of the Hudson River
      in accordance with section 11-1511 of this chapter shall be exempt  from
      the provisions of this subdivision.
        f.  The  use  of  gill  or trammel nets for the taking of blackfish is
      prohibited.