Posted: 3:52 am
June 27, 2008
NEW York State is made as hell and it's not going to take it any more.
Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo filed a lawsuit on Monday against the Department of Commerce for violating federal law with its 2008 limits on recreational catches of summer flounder. The suit charges that its regulations are hurting New York's anglers and the recreational fishing industry, without benefiting the long-term health of these popular sportfish.
"The federal government, through its use of outdated and unfair data, has created a perfect storm for fishermen and recreational boaters across Long Island," said Attorney General Cuomo. "Long Island fishermen should not be at a disadvantage to anglers who come from a New Jersey port. These arbitrary limits on fluke fishing are hurting our recreational fishing industry, yet are not properly protecting our fisheries. My office is working to ensure that New Yorkers are no longer subject to these illegal regulations."
Fluke are one of the most sought-after commercial and recreational fish along the Atlantic Coast. The federal Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act requires that the fluke stock must by rebuilt by 2013.
Accordingly, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, acting through the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), ultimately sets rules for fluke management. The NMFS based the new regulations on a one-year survey conducted almost 10 years ago.
Based on these outdated figures the NMFS then chooses either to adopt one coast-wide set of regulations or different regulations on a state-by-state basis. If the NMFS chooses a state-by-state approach, which it has done, federal law requires that all states are treated fairly and that the regulations are based on the best available scientific data. They are not.
New York has been on the short end of the stick for years and now Attorney General Cuomo is taking up the fight for recreational anglers.
The 2008 regulations subject New York anglers to the strictest catch limits of any other state. New Yorkers can keep four fewer fish per day than New Jersey anglers. New Yorkers' size limit is also 2½ inches longer than it is for New Jersey anglers. Most New York anglers will tell you that they are throwing back close to 98 percent of the fish they catch.
