§ 13-0350 — Marine resources advisory council

§ 13-0350. Marine resources advisory council.\n 1. Legislative intent. The legislature hereby finds and declares that\nthe finfish and shellfish industry in this state plays a vital part in\nthe economy of the state in general and the Long Island region in\nparticular.\n By establishing the marine resources advisory council the legislature\npublicly declares its support for the further development and\nadvancement of such industry; such council's mandate to monitor and\nreview fishery management regulations, programs, allocations and\nexpenditures of the department of environmental conservation for the\ncare, management, protection and enlargement of finfish and shellfish\nwill provide proper input from that segment of our populace most\nconcerned with the impact this state's programs have on finfish and\nshellfish resources.\n 2. Creation of marine resources advisory council. (a) There is hereby\ncreated within the department a marine resources advisory council to\nreview proposed regulations for management of marine fisheries and to\nmake recommendations on plans, policies, and programs affecting marine\nresources as more specifically outlined below. Such council shall be\ncomposed of fifteen members appointed by the commissioner, none of whom\nshall be employees of the department. Two council members representative\nof recreational users of marine resources and two council members\nrepresentative of commercial users of marine resources shall be\ndesignated by the majority leader of the senate and two members\nrepresentative of recreational users of marine resources and two council\nmembers representative of commercial users of marine resources shall be\ndesignated by the speaker of the assembly. One member will be the\ndirector of the marine sciences research center at SUNY Stony Brook or\nthe director's designee who shall act as chairman. Of the members\nappointed all shall be residents of a county which borders the marine\nand coastal district. The council shall be representative of individual\nand organized commercial and recreational shellfishing and finfishing\ninterests in the state. At no time shall there be less than seven\nmembers of the council who shall be representative of commercial\nharvesters of marine resources nor shall there be less than seven\nmembers of the council who shall be representative of recreational users\nand harvesters of marine resources. Appointments to the advisory council\nshall be made no later than the first day of March next succeeding the\ndate on which this section shall have become a law.\n (b) Persons designated or appointed to the advisory council shall have\ndemonstrated a long-standing interest, knowledge and experience in\ncommercial or recreational harvesting of marine resources.\n 3. Meetings of the council. The council shall meet at least quarterly.\n 4. Duties of the advisory council. The advisory council shall have the\nfollowing powers and duties:\n (a) To review the allocations and expenditures of the department for\nthe care, management, protection and enlargement of marine resources and\nreport to the commissioner by January first of each year. The\ncommissioner shall, by February first of each year, submit such report,\nin its entirety, to the governor, the legislature and interested\nindividuals and organizations. Such report shall include the findings of\nthe advisory council regarding such allocations and expenditures,\nincluding expenditures and appropriations from the conservation fund and\nthe extent to which such expenditures and appropriations are consistent\nwith the requirements of state law.\n (b) To make reports and release information from time to time as it\ndeems necessary to commercial and recreational harvesters and users of\nmarine resources and the general public regarding the marine resources\nprogram.\n (c) To consult with commercial and recreational users of marine\nresources and make recommendations on program needs and on how such\nneeds shall be met.\n (d) To assist the department's efforts to expand the available sources\nof income for the marine resources account and advise the department\nwith respect to the needs of those industries involved with the\ncommercial and recreational harvesting of marine resources.\n (e) To review proposed regulations pertaining to the conservation and\nmanagement of marine fisheries, to consult with commercial and\nrecreational users of such fisheries regarding such regulations, and to\nmake recommendations and comments to the department regarding the\nadoption and modification of such regulations consistent with the policy\nand principles set forth in section 13-0105 of this article.\n 5. Term of appointment. All members of the council shall serve terms\nof three years provided, however, that of the members first appointed,\none-third shall be appointed for a term of three years, one-third shall\nbe appointed for a term of two years, and one-third shall be appointed\nfor a term of one year. An appointment to fill a vacancy shall be made\nfor the remainder of the affected term in the same manner as the\noriginal appointment was made. Such appointment shall be made within\nsixty days of the date the position becomes vacant.\n 5-a. Term of appointment. The new members appointed pursuant to\nsubdivision two of this section as amended by a chapter of the laws of\n1994 entitled "AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in\nrelation to establishing the marine fisheries conservation and\nmanagement policy, various other provisions relating to the management\nof marine resources and repealing paragraph d of subdivision 2 of\nsection 11-1319 of such law relating to the sale of billfish" shall be\nappointed to terms as follows: the member appointed by the majority\nleader of the senate and the member appointed by the speaker of the\nassembly shall each be appointed to a term of three years; and of the\ntwo members appointed by the commissioner, one shall be appointed to a\nterm of two years and the other shall be appointed to a term of one\nyear.\n 6. State assistance. The commissioner shall make any and all documents\nreadily available to the council which the council indicates are needed\nto properly and thoroughly carry out its responsibilities. The\ncommissioner shall also make available to the council such aid\nreasonably necessary to allow the council to carry out its duties and\nresponsibilities.\n