§ 13-0343 — Nets other than trawls; restrictions on use of nets and trawls

§ 13-0343. Nets other than trawls; restrictions on use of nets and\n trawls.\n 1. Nets other than trawls shall not be placed, maintained or used in\nany of the following waters except: (a) as permitted by this section;\n(b) landing nets may be used in completing the catch of fish hooked by\nangling; and (c) cast nets, not in excess of twenty feet in diameter,\noperated by hand may be used to take Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia\ntyrannus) and mullets (Mugil spp), except in the waters described in\nsubdivisions four, eight and twelve of this section. The use of cast\nnets shall be limited to one per boat.\n 2. In the waters of the marine district in the county of Richmond\npurse seines may not be used to take menhaden; and nets of not more than\nten feet in length, operated by hand, may be used to take minnows and\nshrimp for bait.\n 3. In the Harlem River and the East River east of the Robert F.\nKennedy Bridge and in Long Island Sound west of a line drawn from\nHewlett's (King's) Point to the north end of Hart Island, thence to the\nsouth end of Glen Island, and in their adjacent bays, coves, creeks and\nconfluent waters, only such nets as are used to take lobsters or crabs\nmay be used.\n 4. In the Nissequogue River fish may be taken by angling only except\nthat nets of not more than twenty feet in length and four feet in depth,\noperated by hand, may be used to take bait fish during daylight hours\nonly.\n 5. a. In the inland tidal waters within the town of Hempstead, no\nperson shall at any time engage in eel dredging by the use of nets\naccompanied by cutting boards, chains or other similar devices.\n b. In the inland tidal waters within the town of Hempstead westerly of\nthe Wantagh State Parkway causeway, nets shall not be used except nets,\nnot over forty feet long and four feet deep, may be used to take minnows\nor shrimp for bait.\n 6. In Jamaica Bay and its adjacent creeks, inlets and basins, nets\nshall not be used inshore of a line from the beacon at Rockaway Point\njetty to the municipal bath houses on Coney Island, except that minnows\nand shrimp may be taken by hand nets not over forty feet long and four\nfeet deep and except that nets other than trawls may be used from\nOctober 10 to December 31 in that part of such area southerly of a line\nfrom the lighted beacon at Manhattan Beach to the most southerly point\non Barren Island and westerly of the Marine Parkway bridge across\nRockaway Inlet.\n 7. In Gravesend Bay, and in the Atlantic Ocean within one-half mile of\nthe shore from Norton's point to the municipal bath houses on Coney\nIsland and within one-half mile of the shore from the Rockaway Inlet\njetty at Rockaway Point to the East Rockaway Inlet jetty at Silver\nPoint, nets shall not be used except as follows:\n a. To take minnows or shrimp for bait, hand nets not more than forty\nfeet long and four feet deep.\n b. To take eels, spears and eel weirs.\n c. To take menhaden, vessels of forty tons or less register using nets\nother than trawls, except where prohibited by subdivision 13 of this\nsection.\n 8. In the Carmans river, Suffolk county.\n a. Nets shall not be used in the river north of a line running from\nthe most southerly point of land within the Wertheim National Wildlife\nRefuge on the western shore of the river easterly to the point where the\nsouthern boundary of the refuge meets the eastern shore of the river.\n b. Eel pots shall not be used north of the point where Beaver Dam road\n(Brookhaven avenue) meets the river. Between the point where Beaver Dam\nroad meets the river and the line described in paragraph a of this\nsubdivision eel pots may be used only to take eels.\n 9. In Jones' Inlet, nets, except haul seines of not more than one\nhundred twenty feet in length and six feet in depth used to take bait\nfish or crustacea, shall not be used inshore from an east and west line\ndrawn from a point one-half mile southerly of the municipal bathing\npavilion at Point Lookout, thence easterly to a point one-half mile\nsoutherly of the Short Beach Coast Guard tower. The inshore boundary of\nthe Jones' Inlet area closed to certain netting shall be the bridges of\nthe Loop and Meadowbrook Parkway.\n 10. In Fire Island Inlet, nets, except during the period of time from\nApril first through May thirty-first haul seines of not more than one\nhundred seventy-five feet in length and twenty feet in depth used to\ntake bait fish or crustacea, shall not be used inshore of a line drawn\nfrom the sea end of the government jetty at Democrat Point to the town\nof Babylon bathing pavilion at Cedar Island Beach. The inshore boundary\nof the Fire Island Inlet area closed to certain netting shall be the\nRobert Moses bridge to Fire Island.\n 11. Nets shall not be used in Moriches inlet, Shinnecock Inlet and in\nMecox Inlet nor in the Atlantic Ocean within one-half mile of the shores\nthereof for a distance of one-half mile measured east and west along the\nbeach from the east and west shores of the seaward entrances to such\ninlets. The department, for law enforcement purposes, may in its\ndiscretion erect suitable markers on the beach at the limit points.\n 12. In the Connetquoit River nets shall not be used.\n 13. In the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Fire Island Inlet, nets\nshall not be used within one thousand feet of the beach between Rockaway\nInlet Jetty at Rockaway Point and the headland extending into Fire\nIsland Inlet known as the "sore thumb".\n 14. In the county of Suffolk.\n a. In the waters lying westerly of an imaginary line extending in a\ngeneral southerly direction from Leaves Point in Southold town to Hay\nBeach Point in Shelter Island, and a line extending in a general\nnortheasterly direction from Mashomack Point in Shelter Island to Cedar\nPoint at the eastern entrance to Sag Harbor.\n (1) haul seines shall not be used measuring over one hundred fifty\nfathoms in length, attached to which may be two wings, each measuring\nnot more than one hundred fifty fathoms in length with a stretched mesh\nsize including knot of not less than three and one-quarter inches in one\nwing and three and one-half inches in the other wing;\n (2) the use of haul seines is prohibited from midnight Thursday to\n6:00 P.M. Sunday.\n (3) when permitted by the commissioner, pound or trap nets may be used\nin the waters described in paragraph a of this subdivision provided they\ndo not interfere with or obstruct navigation or the carrying out of\nshellfish culture as provided in this chapter. Any such pound or trap\nnets shall be marked in accordance with requirements prescribed by the\ncommissioner.\n b. Waste fish shall not be left on shore or within the waters five\nhundred feet from shore.\n 15. a. Nets shall not be used in Long Island sound west of an\nimaginary line from the New York-Connecticut boundary shore line\nextending easterly and southerly to Eaton's Point Neck on Long Island\nfrom April 1 to November 1, nor at any time in the waters of Huntington\nBay, Lloyd Harbor, Northport Bay or Coldspring Harbor; provided,\nhowever, that hand nets not more than forty feet long and four feet in\nwidth may be used to take minnows and shrimp for bait, at any time.\n b. Gill nets shall not be used in Long Island Sound or in harbors,\nbays or other waters adjacent thereto west of an imaginary line\nextending north from the easterly boundary of the town of Brookhaven on\nthe north shore of Long Island in the county of Suffolk. However, as\npermitted under subdivision ten of section 13-0329 of this chapter, a\nholder of a commercial lobster license may use no more than one gill net\nnot longer than three hundred feet with a stretched mesh size between\nthree and one-half inches and four and one-quarter inches to take bait\nfish between April 1 and November 15 during each weekly period beginning\n6:00 p.m., Sunday, through 9:00 a.m. Friday, providing that each net\nwill be buoyed on each end and identified with the permittee's\ncommercial lobster license number. The net shall be fished with the top\nnot less than four feet below the surface of the water.\n 16. Unless permitted by statute, or licensed or permitted by the\ndepartment, nets shall not be possessed by any person in or on waters of\nthe marine district, in the following instances:\n a. Nets of metallic fabric shall not be possessed in or on any waters\nor within one-half mile thereof;\n b. In waters where use of trawls is prohibited by section 13-0341,\nsuch trawls shall not be possessed in the waters where their use is\nprohibited, or during any time when such use is so prohibited;\n c. In waters where use of nets other than trawls, or use of trawls; is\nprohibited by this section, the nets, or trawls, as the case may be, or\nnets of the kind or kinds prohibited, shall not be possessed in the\nwaters where their use is prohibited or during any time when such use is\nprohibited, except that where a provision of this section expressly\nspecifies a lesser distance from the water in which possession is\nprohibited, this section does not enlarge the distance from the water in\nwhich such possession is prohibited.\n d. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed as prohibiting\ncommercial fishing vessels sailing to or from offshore fishing grounds\nfrom carrying on board fishing gear that may legally be used in such\noffshore waters even though they must pass through waters where the use\nof such gear is otherwise prohibited.\n 17. Within three nautical miles of the Atlantic coastline and in all\nother tidal waters within the state, the use of purse seines for taking\nfood fish is prohibited.\n 18. Nets and seines measuring more than twenty-five feet in length and\nfour feet in depth shall not be used in the waters of Oyster Bay Harbor.\n 19. a. Gill or trammel nets set or operated in the marine and coastal\ndistrict shall be marked at each end with an orange flag at least twelve\ninches square attached to a mast rising above the surface of the water\nat least five feet. Nets operated after dark shall have orange and white\nreflective tape attached to the mast for a minimum one foot length\nimmediately below the flag.\n b. No gill or trammel net shall be set or operated in the marine and\ncoastal district within one thousand feet of a pound or trap net.\n c. Except in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island Sound,\nTiana Bay, Shinnecock Bay, Mecox Bay, Quantuck Bay, that portion of\nMoriches Bay within the town of Southampton, and the marine and coastal\nwaters lying easterly of an imaginary line extending in a general\nsoutherly direction from Cleaves Point in the town of Southold to Hay\nBeach Point in Shelter Island, and a line extending in a general\nnortheasterly direction from Mashomack Point in Shelter Island to Cedar\nPoint at the eastern entrance to Sag Harbor, no gill or trammel net\nshall be set in the waters of the marine and coastal district from\nsunset Friday to sunrise Monday during the period from April first to\nNovember first.\n d. Gill or trammel nets set or operated in the waters of the Great\nSouth Bay shall not exceed twelve hundred feet in length. In addition to\nthe requirements in paragraph a of this subdivision, nets set or\noperated in the Great South Bay shall display surface markers at least\nevery one hundred feet. No gill or trammel net shall be set in the\nwaters of the Great South Bay from May first until May thirty-first,\ninclusive. For the purposes of this subdivision, Great South Bay shall\nmean the waters extending east from Wantagh State Parkway to the Smith\nPoint Bridge and southwest to the Robert Moses Inlet Bridge.\n e. Those gill and trammel nets set in the waters of the Hudson River\nin accordance with section 11-1511 of this chapter shall be exempt from\nthe provisions of this subdivision.\n f. The use of gill or trammel nets for the taking of blackfish is\nprohibited.\n