Albany - New York State Assemblyman Fred Thiele (I-Sag Harbor) reported this week that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has adopted regulations establishing a weekly limit for the catch of fluke. Until now, the catch of fluke and other species were regulated by a daily catch limit. Under the new regulations, instead of the current daily limit of 70 pounds of fluke, boats will be able to catch up to 400 pounds a week. In January, the weekly limit will increase to 1,200 pounds. The program is a pilot program scheduled to end in March.

Thiele has advocated for such a change for years on behalf of the region's commercial fishing industry. Shinnecock and Montauk are the two largest commercial fishing ports in the State of New York. In January of this year, Thiele introduced A.854 in the New York State Assembly, which would have established a weekly catch limit for each vessel for all species regulated by the DEC. Under the Thiele legislation, the weekly limit for each species would be five times the daily catch limit for that species. Under Thiele's bill, the program would remain in effect until January 1, 2011.

"Several other states have already established a weekly catch limit for various species of fish," Thiele stated. "Finally New York State has taken a small step towards the adoption of this common sense measure. Weekly catch limits help the bottom line of the fisherman and the environment without any adverse impact on fisheries. Aggregate weekly catch limits result in reduced fuel costs for the fisherman and the conservation of fuel in general. This measure is a good start but must be expanded. After the trial period is over, I will seek legislation to make the program permanent and to expand it to other species."

Thiele added that it was time for the governor to also reconsider his position on a total exemption from state fuel taxes for fuel purchased by commercial fishermen. Under current law, fishermen pay at the pump and then must file unnecessary paperwork to get their exemption. Last year, Thiele passed a bill that would have exempted commercial fishermen at the pump, but it was vetoed by Governor Paterson.

"This would eliminate unnecessary paperwork and have no impact on the state treasury," Thiele continued, "Currently, many New York fishermen buy their fuel in Rhode Island where there is no tax. This is an inconvenience to commercial fishermen and a loss of revenue to our state's marine fuel distributors. It is another tax which drives business out of the State. We should not lose this economic benefit because state bureaucrats are too lazy to change their procedures."