Tag Archives: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Dead humpback whale floating in Raritan Bay. Another reported off N.Y.
The whales are floating in the Raritan Bay and off Wainscott, New York, the Marine Mammal Stranding Center said Thursday. “Biologists across multiple organizations are currently assessing their resources to respond,” the stranding center said Thursday. “The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and New Jersey Fish & Wildlife Service are partnered in the efforts to relocate and respond to these whales as well. “Multiple dead whales washed up on New Jersey beaches in the winter, including in Seaside Park and Atlantic City. >click to read< 13:50
Humpback Whale freed from 4,000 pounds of fishing gear
An injured whale was rescued from the waters between New York and New Jersey,,, The whale was reported to the Coast Guard after being spotted by a recreational boat off the coast of the Rockaways in New York City, across from Sandy Hook, in late July. An investigation showed it was entangled by several buoys and thousands of pounds of steel fishing gear. Although whale entanglements are not unusual, a rescue effort of this magnitude is, experts said. “Using a hacksaw rescuers were able to cut through the steel cable holding the whale and the whale was able to swim free,” Nickles said. >click to read< 08:08
Schneiderman reach’s out to fed, state and county governments for help with storm-socked Dune Road
Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman has reached out for help with a “critical condition” on Dune Road, flooding that he said could soon become a disaster if not addressed. After four emergency declarations on storm-socked Dune Road near the commercial fishing dock in Hamptons Bays, Schneiderman reached out to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation via a letter requesting rehabilitation assistance. “I write to advise of a critical condition at the West of Shinnecock Inlet project that imminently threatens,,, >click to read< 19:35
U.S. Coast Guard, partner agencies continue to assess Tanker Coimbra Southeast of Shinnecock Inlet
The U.S. Coast Guard and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, along with contracted Resolve Marine Group, continue to assess the tanker Coimbra located approximately 30 miles southeast of Shinnecock, N.Y. >click for 9 images< Boaters Advised To Stay Away As Coast Guard Investigates World War II Tanker Southeast Of Shinnecock Inlet the Coimbra, which sank 30 miles off the coast of Shinnecock Inlet more than 70 years ago. >click to read<11:09
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Announces Emergency Regulations for Scup
Increased Possession Limit Will Benefit New York Commercial Fishing Industry The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) adopted emergency regulations, effective immediately, to increase the incidental possession limit for the commercial scup fishery from 200 to 2,000 pounds through June 15. This exemption allows commercial harvesters in the small-mesh squid fishery to keep and sell more scup, resulting in increased income for commercial harvesters. The rule change will also reduce waste in the fishery by preventing dead scup from being discarded overboard due to the prior lower harvest limit. >click to read<11:37
Testimony: Young fishermen being driven from Long Island fishing industry
A generation of young fishermen are being driven from the industry by an antiquated licensing system that makes it difficult if not impossible to transfer permits, fishermen said at one of several state meetings last week. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has hired a consultant from Maine to meet with commercial fishermen across the metropolitan area over the next month to compile proposals for fixing the system.,, Norman Stiansen, a commercial fisherman from Hampton Bays, said his son Peter recently gave up on becoming a commercial fishermen because he couldn’t get the needed licenses. >click to read<08:50
DEC Announces Public Information Sessions to Modernize and Reform State’s Commercial Fishing Licensing System
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos announced today that the agency is holding a series of meetings across the State’s Marine and Coastal District in July and August to gather feedback from key stakeholders about the State’s current commercial fishing licensing system and ideas for reforms to modernize and improve the program. In March 2018, DEC retained the services of an expert marine fisheries consultant, George LaPointe, who will facilitate the meetings to be held in Brooklyn, East Setauket, Freeport, Southampton, Staten Island, Southold >click to read<19:05
New York State petitions feds demanding more equitable fluke quota
New York State on Friday filed a petition with the federal government to demand a more equitable distribution of the commercial fluke quota, saying current rules put “unreasonable limits” on the state industry.,, “The stringent limits on commercial landings of [fluke] in New York ports have made [fluke] fishing no longer an economically viable choice” for New York fishermen, because the “limited revenue generated by a trip often cannot offset the costs, including fuel, time, and vessel wear-and-tear.” >click to read<18:21
Chairman James Gilmore hopes to modernize Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
The announcement in mid-October that James Gilmore had been elected Chairman of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) came as no surprise to anglers familiar with the fishery management process at the federal level. Voted in by the ASMFC State Commissioners from Maine to Florida, the lifelong Amityville resident had spent the past two years as vice chairman. He is also Division of Marine Resources Director for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), a position he has held for the last decade and will continue to hold. In his new role as ASMFC chairman, Gilmore oversees both administration and policy issues for the regulatory agency’s individual species management boards. click here to read the story 09:35
Strained Fluke Quotas, Hurricanes and Safe Harbor
Less than a month after a bill granting vessels safe harbor in New York was signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo, a fishing vessel bound for North Carolina carrying 6,000 pounds of fluke has tested the new policy, straining New York’s federally designated fluke quotas. The F/V Rianda S., which has long been a part of the Montauk fleet, was in transit to land its fish in North Carolina, where it has fishing licenses, on Sept. 17 after fishing in federal waters when it encountered the rough seas generated by Hurricane José and requested safe harbor in Montauk. New York’s fluke fishery is closed for the month of September, due to banner fluke landings this summer that strained the state’s already low federally mandated quotas. click here to read the story 08:25
DEC: Party boat anglers caught dumping illegal fish in Montauk Harbor
State marine enforcement officers issued eight tickets and 22 warnings last month after people aboard a party boat were spotted throwing “hundreds of pounds” of illegal fish overboard in Montauk Harbor, authorities said. The boat was later found to have hundreds more undersized and over-the-limit fish — a combined 1,000 fish in all, authorities said last week. The Department of Environmental Conservation, in an email, said a marine enforcement unit was patrolling Montauk Harbor Aug. 31 when officers confronted fishermen on the boat, Fin Chaser, who were tossing fish overboard. Anglers ignored orders to stop, the DEC said click here to read the story 11:57
Crackdown Uncovers 340 Pounds Of Fluke Hidden On Fishing Boat
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Officers caught fishermen hiding fluke on their vessel, the DEC said. On Aug. 13, ECOs Chris Amato, Tim Fay, and Kait Grady patrolled Montauk Point for commercial fishing activity; when they checked a boat coming into Inlet Seafood after a six-day fishing trip, they found that the vessel crew had hidden 340 pounds of overage fluke in the fish hold behind empty boxes, the DEC said. The crew had also hidden a finned thresher shark, black sea bass, out of season, and several pounds of filleted fluke, black sea bas, and striped bass, the DEC said. click here to read the story 08:53
DA: Westbury Seafood Firm Sold Over $100G in Fish, Shellfish Without License, Permit
The owner and CEO of a Westbury-based seafood marketing company allegedly sold more than $100,000 in fresh fish and shellfish to Long Island restaurants without proper licenses and permits, authorities said. Richard Scores, Jr., 57, of Commack, was arrested Thursday by Nassau County District Attorney investigators and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation police officers after a joint investigation, officials said. Read the rest here 15:58
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Strong-armed Tactics Taken to Task
Attorney Daniel G Rodgers held a press conference on Monday at Southampton Town’s Shinnecock commercial fishing dock in Hampton Bays to call attention to what he says is the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s strong-armed tactics at dealing with violations by commercial fishermen. According to Mr. Rodgers, Bill Reed, the captain of the Providence was charged,,, Read the rest here 19:08
Father, Son Charged For Overfishing Summer Flounder in Southampton
A father and son fishing team from Hampton Bays are facing misdemeanor illegal commercialization charges after New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police Officers (ECOs) caught them violating summer flounder trip limits when their boat returned to port in Southampton late last month. Two ECOs boarded the FV Mary Elizabeth, a 60-foot Stern trawler, when it returned to port on December 22 at the Southampton town dock in Shinnecock Inlet. Read the rest here 16:09
