Tag Archives: Southampton attorney Daniel Rodgers
Safe Harbor Bill Becomes Law, Ensures Legal Rights and Protection of Commercial Fishermen in Emergency Situations
Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. and Senator Ken LaValle today announced that Governor Cuomo signed their Safe Harbor Law on August 21. The bill provides commercial fishing vessels with safe harbor. Safe harbor means immunity from prosecution from State fishing regulations in certain emergency situations.,,, The Safe Harbor Law would apply when a commercial fisherman (1) encounters or is forecasted to encounter unsafe weather, (2) experiences a mechanical problem, that makes the continuation of the voyage unsafe and poses a risk to life and property, (3) experiences a significant medical emergency which requires immediate medical attention necessary to protect the health of any person on board, or (4) experiences loss of essential gear such as support systems that renders the vessel unable to remain at sea. click here to read the story 14:30
A dwindling North Fork fishing community urge emergency measures to keep black sea bass season open
About a dozen of them met at a Mattituck marina Thursday to vent their frustration at the measure, which one fisherman said would reduce his income by 80 percent. Meanwhile, the state’s top fishing regulator wrote a letter to federal fisheries managers urging them to expedite an assessment to improve the data upon which local quotas are based. State regulators are pushing federal regulators to fix the problem. In a May 17 letter to top federal fishing regulators, Basil Seggos, acting DEC commissioner, noted the fishery has been rebuilt since 2009, yet fishermen “continue to struggle under low catch limits and restrictive measures while black sea bass appear to be more abundant than in any time in recent history.” Read the story here 14:41
Long Island Fishermen Say Governor And Investigators Failed Them – Violating fishermen’s basic rights for decades
Commercial fishermen this week scoffed at a long-awaited report on an investigation of the state Department of Environmental Conservation, saying the report was a hollow failure by State Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott’s office to hold the DEC accountable for “institutionalized violations of fishermen’s basic rights for decades,” said an attorney who has represented several fishermen from East Hampton and Hampton Bays. Read the rest here 14:55
