§ 11-1521 — Management of striped bass in the Hudson River

§ 11-1521. Management of striped bass in the Hudson River.\n Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary:\n 1. Striped bass (Morone saxatilis) less than eighteen inches in total\nlength may not be taken, possessed, bought, sold or offered for sale.\n 2. Striped bass shall not be taken in the Hudson River from the George\nWashington bridge north to the Federal dam at Troy from December 1\nthrough March 15. Striped bass unintentionally taken in violation of\nthis subdivision shall be returned to the water immediately without\nunnecessary injury.\n 3. Striped bass shall not be taken in the Hudson River from the George\nWashington bridge north to the Federal dam at Troy with seines, fykes,\nhoop nets or trawls.\n 4. From March 15 through June 15, gill nets with stretched mesh size\ngreater than 3 1/2 inches and less than 5 inches shall not be set in the\nHudson River from the George Washington bridge north to the Federal dam\nat Troy nor possessed while on those waters.\n 5. In addition to the restrictions set forth in subdivision four\nhereof, from March 15 through June 15, no person shall set a gill net\nother than a drift gill net in the waters of the Hudson River lying\nbetween the Bear Mountain bridge and the Hamilton Fish Newburgh-Beacon\nbridge nor possess any gill net other than a drift gill net while on the\nshores or waters of that portion of the Hudson River. For the purposes\nof this subdivision a drift gill net is defined as a gill net that is\nnot anchored or staked and is free to move with water currents. The\ndepartment shall identify additional spawning areas and allocate fishing\nlocations within these spawning areas.\n 6. Striped bass unintentionally taken in violation of subdivision one,\nthree, four or five of this section shall be returned to the water at\nonce without unnecessary injury, except that fish taken in gill nets\nneed not be so returned to the water but shall not be bought, sold or\ntrafficked in. For the purposes of this section "trafficked in" includes\npossession or transportation in any boat or vehicle other than the boat\nin which such striped bass were landed after being taken. Nothing in\nthis subdivision shall be construed as permitting any person to possess\nstriped bass of less than legal size.\n 7. On or before March 15, 1984 the department shall adopt rules and\nregulations limiting entry to the traditional commercial fishery for\nstriped bass in the Hudson River. Such rules and regulations may include\nthe establishment of a limit on the number of commercial striped bass\nlicenses to be issued, the establishment of equipment restrictions\nnecessary to maintain traditional fishing methods, the establishment of\na striped bass harvest quota for allocation among licensees and the\nestablishment of a Hudson River commercial fishing board whose members\nwill be appointed by the commissioner and which will function to approve\nor deny applications for commercial striped bass licenses on the basis\nof rules promulgated by the department, to establish criteria for the\nallotment of individual licensee catch quotas and to allot the catch\nquotas when the department establishes striped bass harvest limits for\nallocation among licensees. Such rules and regulations shall be publicly\nreviewed each year by the Hudson River Advisory Committee and revised as\nneeded to insure maintenance of an economically viable, stable and\ntraditional striped bass commercial fishery in the Hudson River and to\nprovide proper protection for the Hudson River striped bass population.\n 8. No person shall sell or expose or offer for sale, trade or barter\nstriped bass without first obtaining a commercial striped bass license.\nA commercial striped bass license is required only for initial sale,\nexposing or offering for sale, trade or barter and is not required for\nsubsequent sales. The resident fee for such license shall be determined\nby the commissioner and shall not exceed one hundred dollars. Fees for\nlicensing nets in the Hudson River as required by department rules and\nregulations shall be credited toward purchase of the commercial striped\nbass license. The nonresident fee for such license shall be two hundred\ndollars.\n