§ 13-0331 — Crabs; permit to take; prohibited acts

§ 13-0331. Crabs; permit to take; prohibited acts.\n 1. No person shall take crabs for commercial purposes without first\nobtaining a permit from the department. For purposes of this\nsubdivision, a presumption of "commercial purposes" shall be made\nwherein one takes or lands more than fifty crabs in any one day or sells\nor barters or offers for sale or barter any crabs such person has taken.\nPermits shall be issued to individuals only but may be endorsed for use\non a vessel, in which case it shall cover all persons on board such\nvessel.\n 1-a. The department may, until December thirty-first, two thousand\ntwenty-six, fix by regulation the limit of Jonah crabs that may be taken\nfor commercial purposes by commercial crab permit holders and by holders\nof New York commercial lobster licenses provided that such regulations\nshall be consistent with the compliance requirements of applicable\nfishery management plans adopted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries\nCommission and with applicable provisions of fishery management plans\nadopted pursuant to the Federal Fishery Conservation and Management Act\n(16 U.S.C. section 1800 et seq.).\n 2. A person domiciled within the state may take crabs, for commercial\npurposes, from the waters of the state upon first obtaining a crabbing\npermit from the department.\n a. The department shall prescribe and furnish forms for application\nfor such permit.\n b. The fee for such crabbing permit shall be thirty dollars.\n 3. A person not domiciled in the state who is domiciled in a state\nthat provides reciprocal permits or licenses to persons domiciled in New\nYork state may take crabs, for commercial purposes, upon first obtaining\na crabbing permit from the department.\n a. The department shall prescribe and furnish forms for application\nfor such permit.\n b. The fee for such crabbing permit shall be fifty dollars.\n 4. Permits are not transferable and shall expire on December 31\nfollowing the date of issue. If it appears in the public interest, the\ndepartment may suspend or cancel such permits without prior notice.\n 5. Female crabs with eggs visible thereon, commonly called sponge\ncrabs, or any female crabs from which the egg pouch or bunion has been\nremoved, shall not be taken, possessed, transported or offered for sale\nat any time.\n 6. Crabs shall not be taken by dredging in the waters of Richmond\ncounty; Hempstead Bay and South Oyster Bay in the county of Nassau; or\nin the waters of Great South Bay west of Captree bridge in the county of\nSuffolk.\n 7. The department may, until December thirty-first, two thousand\ntwenty-seven, fix by regulation measures for the management of crabs of\nany kind, excluding horseshoe crabs (Limulus sp.), including minimum and\nmaximum size limits, catch and possession limits, open and closed\nseasons including lunar closures, closed areas, restrictions on the\nmanner of taking and landing including a prohibition on the harvest of\ncrabs in amplexus, requirements for permits and eligibility therefor,\nrecordkeeping requirements, requirements on the amount and type of\nfishing effort and gear, and requirements relating to transportation,\npossession and sale, provided that such regulations are no less\nrestrictive than requirements set forth in this chapter and provided\nfurther that such regulations are consistent with the compliance\nrequirements of applicable fishery management plans adopted by the\nAtlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and with applicable\nprovisions of fishery management plans adopted pursuant to the Federal\nFishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. § 1800 et seq.).\n 8. No person shall take horseshoe crabs (Limulus sp.), including for\ncommercial or biomedical purposes, from the waters of this state.\nProvided however that this section shall not apply to the taking of\nhorseshoe crabs (Limulus sp.) for bona fide scientific or educational\npurposes including, but not limited to, public or not-for-profit zoos\nand aquaria, as determined by the commissioner pursuant to rules and\nregulations.\n