The new DEC Commissioner, Basil Seggos and many other representatives from the department, including those from law enforcement, marine habitat, marine resources, natural resources, and regional directors met with stakeholders on Thursday night, December 17th at the Bureau of Marine Resources in East Setauket.
Representatives of the various groups with a stake in marine resources were able to voice their concerns and suggestions on a wide range of issues. Included in the discussions related to recreational fishing were enforcement of existing fisheries regulations, improving access through launch ramps, reefs and fishing piers, data collection by DEC rather than NMFS to insure fair allocation of fisheries such as fluke, better communication of regulations and information to the public, and reviving fisheries like winter flounder to name a few.
My first impression of commissioner Seggos was a good one. He came across sincere, he has some background in fishing having grown up along the coast of Connecticut, and he seems genuinely interested in improving things here in the marine district. He also promised to make trips down to the Island on a regular basis, something no commissioner in the recent past has done.
Prior to the meeting, I had canvassed numerous individuals from the recreational sector, and also received substantial feedback from online postings related to what concerns fishermen have, or what changes they would like to see from the DEC. Following is a summary of what I presented to the commissioner and his representatives based on that feedback.
Far and away the number one concern was enforcement of existing recreational and commercial fishing regulations. While I personally have seen a much greater presence in the areas I frequent most along the South Shore, many other boat and surf anglers told me they have never been checked, or have seen DEC police in the field only once or twice over the course of a year or two. With over 450 miles of coastline and more than 1500 square miles of estuary waters, the four or five officers assigned to the Marine Enforcement Unit in Nassau and Suffolk counties is grossly inadequate to deal with the numerous marine issues that occur in such a highly populated area as Long Island. While they are supported by other DEC police, the many other responsibilities of these officers does not allow sufficient time or staffing to have the presence required to give our marine resources the protection they deserve.
While the current force of DEC police do an admirable job given the manpower and resources they have at their disposal, abuses are rampant. Among the most common complaints were recreational anglers ignoring bag limits on species like striped bass and blackfish, and selling their catches illegally to restaurants and black market dealers. The abuse of the commercial striped bass tag system whereby fish are either not tagged or the tags of others not actively engaged in the fishing being used by others who then split the profits. Abuse of the one fish recreational bag limit where individual anglers are keeping multiple fish to fill boat limits, and the lenient attitude towards the saltwater registry – “If we have it, it should be enforced.” This all speaks to a need for the creation of a separate marine bureau here on Long Island to provide our marine resources the protection they deserve.
Addressing bycatch mortality by commercial fishing was repeatedly brought up as a concern. The most common complaints included killing of hundreds of striped bass by draggers to allow a 21-fish bycatch, and the use of gill nets from the beach to circumvent a ban on haul seining striped bass. These harvesting methods to be more restrictive, or if they are to continue, regulations have to be tailored to eliminate the senseless waste of a valuable resource. If there is a seasonal quota allowed, let them fill it as the fish are caught to avoid future targeting of these fish.Far stricter penalties should be put in place to discourage the breaking of marine fisheries laws – even going so far as confiscating boats and gear, and or, banning future participation for commercial and recreational offenders.
A primary concern of anglers and industry people whose lives depend on sensible fishery regulations, want to see our DEC, rather than the NMFS, responsible for data gathering and dockside intercepts. We were told at the meeting that there is plan in the works that will see this data gathering handed over to the states and funded by NOAA by 2017.
Concerning access, there are just five full service launch ramps on Long Island, leaving many areas inaccessible to trailer boar anglers. The western South Shore, western and central LI Sound, Peconic Bay and Montauk all lack state ramps.
Concerning the funding to bring some of these changes to fruition, many of the people I’ve been in contact with when asked how to fund their suggestions were surprisingly realistic about a saltwater license as a funding source. But to a person, they said license revenues must be dedicated to a marine resources or DEC fund. The possibility of a striped bass stamp was also raised by a number of people.
