House Bill No. 6213
House Bill No. 6213
PUBLIC ACT NO. 97-145
AN ACT CONCERNING USE OF PURSE SEINES IN LONG
ISLAND SOUND AND THE CONNECTICUT SEAFOOD COUNCIL.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. In order to conserve the menhaden
fishery and provide for its sustainability for all
users of the resource, the Commissioner of
Environmental Protection shall review the status
of the menhaden fishery and may conduct any
surveys or investigations necessary to augment the
available information regarding the fishery. On or
before January 1, 1999, the commissioner shall
submit a report to the joint standing committee of
the General Assembly having cognizance of matters
relating to the environment regarding such fishery
and any findings or recommendations for
legislative or regulatory changes necessary to
conserve such fishery. Such report shall evaluate
the need for (1) additional penalties for
violations of laws regulating the fishery, (2)
advance reporting by purse seiners prior to
fishing, (3) spill reporting and clean-up within a
specified period, (4) licensure of individuals and
boats and (5) limits on the number and size of
boats and nets. Said committee shall hold a public
hearing on the report during the 1999 regular
session of the General Assembly.
Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 26-142a of
the general statutes is repealed and the following
is substituted in lieu thereof:
(a) No person shall operate, use or attempt to
operate or use a vessel for commercial fishing or
landing activities authorized by this section
unless the commissioner has issued a vessel permit
for such vessel to the owner of the vessel. No
person shall use or assist in using commercial
fishing gear in any water of the state or land in
this state any species taken by commercial fishing
gear or for commercial purposes, regardless where
such species was taken, unless such person has
been licensed by the Commissioner of Environmental
Protection to use such commercial fishing gear or
land such species; except that any person who
holds a license to set or tend gill nets, a
license to take lobsters for personal use, a
resident commercial fishing license, a nonresident
commercial fishing license or a commercial landing
license may be accompanied and assisted by persons
not so licensed. A resident of a state which does
not issue commercial licenses to take eels to
residents of Connecticut shall not be eligible to
obtain a commercial license to take eels in the
waters of this state or to land eels in this
state. No vessel shall be used to land any
finfish, lobsters, crabs, including blue crabs,
sea scallops, squid or bait species for sale,
barter, exchange, consignment or transportation to
any point of sale unless an operator of the vessel
is licensed for such purpose, except that any
person who holds a commercial fishing license
issued by the commissioner to fish by the method
used to take such species, regardless of where
such species were taken, shall not be required to
obtain a landing license. No person shall take or
attempt to take lobsters for personal use by hand
or by scuba diving or skin diving unless such
person has been licensed by the commissioner to
take lobsters by such methods. No person shall
take or attempt to take finfish for commercial
purposes by the use of hook and line, including
but not limited to rod and reel, hand line, set
line, long line, or similar device unless such
person has been licensed by the commissioner to
use such gear for commercial purposes, except that
notwithstanding the issuance of such a license, no
person shall take finfish for commercial purposes
in the inland district by the use of hook and
line. PRIOR TO JULY 1, 1999, NO PURSE SEINE OR
SIMILAR DEVICE WHICH IS GREATER THAN THREE HUNDRED
FEET IN LENGTH SHALL BE USED TO TAKE MENHADEN NOR
SHALL MENHADEN BE TAKEN FROM A VESSEL GREATER THAN
FIFTY FEET IN LENGTH. No purse seine or similar
device shall be used to take menhaden unless the
vessel from which such purse seine or similar
device is used, tenders excepted, is registered
with the commissioner. The use of a purse seine or
similar device to take species other than menhaden
is prohibited. No pound net shall be used to take
finfish unless such pound net is registered with
the commissioner. Lobsters and blue crabs taken in
pound nets shall be released unharmed. No person
shall buy finfish, lobsters, crabs, including blue
crabs, sea scallops or squid for resale from any
commercial fisherman unless such person has been
licensed by the commissioner. No person shall take
or assist in taking blue crabs for commercial
purposes except by scoop net, hand line or
manually operated and personally attended devices
approved by the commissioner and unless such
person has been licensed by the commissioner. No
person shall operate a charter boat, party boat or
head boat for the purpose of fishing unless such
boat has been registered for such purpose with the
commissioner. The owner, operator or captain of
any such boat may sell the boat's or crew's share
of any catch if such sale is not prohibited on the
basis of species, size or closed season. For the
purposes of this chapter, a charter boat, party
boat or head boat is a vessel carrying one or more
crew members and which is operated for a fee for
the purpose of transporting and providing a
fishing platform for sport fishermen in the marine
district. The commissioner may by regulations
adopted in accordance with the provisions of
chapter 54 exempt certain minnow seines, cast
nets, scoop nets, traps, eel pots, seines less
than thirty feet in length or any similar device
used to take bait species and other species for
personal use under a sport fishing license in the
inland district and without a license in the
marine district. NO VESSEL USED TO TAKE BAIT
SPECIES MAY EMPLOY A FISH PUMP. Persons licensed,
registered or issued a permit to engage in
activities authorized by this subsection shall
carry on their persons or in the vessel being used
to engage in such activity the permit, license or
registration covering such activity.
Sec. 3. (NEW) There is established a
Connecticut Seafood Advisory Council to assist in
the promotion of Connecticut seafood products and
examine market opportunities. Said advisory
council shall consist of two finfish, shellfish or
lobster harvesters or representatives of harvester
organizations appointed one each by the Speaker
and majority leader of the House of
Representatives, two finfish, shellfish or lobster
processors or representatives of processor
organizations appointed one each by the minority
leaders of the Senate and House of
Representatives, one retailer serving restaurants
or representing a restaurant organization
appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the
Senate, one member at-large appointed by the
majority leader of the Senate, and four nonvoting
members one of whom shall represent the Department
of Environmental Protection, one the Department of
Economic and Community Development and one the
Department of Agriculture and one the Sea Grant
Program at The University of Connecticut.
Sec. 4. This act shall take effect from its
passage.
Approved June 13, 1997