The New York State commercial fishing industry has long suffered from unfair and inequitable quotas arbitrarily set by the federal government based on faulty data. These quotas have stunted the growth of New York’s commercial fishing industry by unfairly discriminating against New York fishermen to the benefit of other states.

I have long opposed these quotas and fought for fairness for New York’s fishermen. I sponsored A.2514, which directs the State Attorney General to commence any and all legal actions against the National Marine Fisheries Services and any other federal or interstate agency necessary to overturn the quotas as arbitrary, capricious and discriminatory against residents of the State of New York. This legislation was introduced in 2015 for the first time because the State Department of Environmental Conservation, time and again, failed to hear the voices of commercial fishermen crying out for fairness.

In June 2017, the DEC wanted to continue the current archaic commercial fishing licensing scheme for another three (3) years. I blocked this bill in the Assembly. As a compromise, the licensing scheme was limited to one (1) year and the Commissioner agreed to come to Long Island in the fall to meet with members of commercial fishing industry.

At that meeting, the industry unanimously supported two (2) demands: (1) Challenge the federal quotas and (2) Reform the commercial fishing licensing system to improve access and transferability of licenses. The Commissioner promised action.

Consequently, the announcement that the State is filing a petition with the federal government challenging the quotas is good news. Equally important is the action to bring in a consultant to work with all the stakeholders in the commercial fishing industry to reform the licensing procedure.

However, it is important to recognize this is only a long overdue and very small first step toward the changes that are needed to revitalize the state’s commercial fishing industry. It is imperative that the commercial fishing industry and our local governments, work together with state legislators to keep the DEC’s feet to the fire and insure that their commitment to changing federal quotas and reforming license regulations is not just temporary, but a long term commitment to revitalizing the industry.

This means pressing the federal government and filing legal action, if necessary, to overturn these inequitable quotas. It will require that the DEC listen to the needs of commercial fishing industry and not just pay lip service to their concerns. It will also require commitment to legislative action that will bring real beneficial change to commercial fishermen. Finally, it must be accomplished with all deliberate speed. Commercial fishermen cannot survive the unfair status quo. Real and concrete action on quotas and licensing is needed in the next 12 months, at the latest.