Bassknuckles
Angler
In Newsday today
The Point: Lack of progress is no fluke
"A catch for fisheries board
Long Island fishers have a new advocate when it comes to setting fair quotas and limits on catches. State Sen. Todd Kaminsky has been appointed to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, one of two federal interstate commissions that regulate near-shore fisheries.
Kaminsky told The Point Wednesday that he is aware of the eternal tensions inherent with the job.
“There are lots of people worried about overfishing,” he said. “At the same time, people have to make a living.”
Kaminsky emphasized the need for smart conservation, mentioning striped bass in particular.
“I think there’s a need for more conservation-minded people on the board,” he said. “As somebody raising a young family on Long Island, I don’t want to have to talk to my family about a fish that used to be on Long Island and isn’t anymore.”
Kaminsky (D-Long Beach), appointed by Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins to replace Sen. Phil Boyle (R-Bay Shore), will be one of three New Yorkers on the board that has representatives from 15 states bordering on the Atlantic Ocean. His appointment pairs nicely with his promotion to chair of the environmental conservation committee, and adds to his rapidly expanding portfolio; he also was named Wednesday by Stewart-Cousins to serve as the Democratic conference’s liaison to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s office.
One of the region’s most contentious fishing issues is the ridiculously inequitable quota system for fluke that leaves New York commercial fishers with an unfairly low percentage of the catch. New York for years has tried to get the two federal commissions to right-size the quotas before Cuomo and Attorney General Letitia James announced a lawsuit against the federal government earlier this month. Now Kaminsky sits on one of those commissions that sets the quotas, and its first meeting is next week.
“None of the fishermen I’ve spoken to yet have brought up the fluke issue,” Kaminsky said.
They will. And it would be a nice feather — or fin — in an increasingly crowded cap if Kaminsky could land that one."
The Point: Lack of progress is no fluke
"A catch for fisheries board
Long Island fishers have a new advocate when it comes to setting fair quotas and limits on catches. State Sen. Todd Kaminsky has been appointed to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, one of two federal interstate commissions that regulate near-shore fisheries.
Kaminsky told The Point Wednesday that he is aware of the eternal tensions inherent with the job.
“There are lots of people worried about overfishing,” he said. “At the same time, people have to make a living.”
Kaminsky emphasized the need for smart conservation, mentioning striped bass in particular.
“I think there’s a need for more conservation-minded people on the board,” he said. “As somebody raising a young family on Long Island, I don’t want to have to talk to my family about a fish that used to be on Long Island and isn’t anymore.”
Kaminsky (D-Long Beach), appointed by Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins to replace Sen. Phil Boyle (R-Bay Shore), will be one of three New Yorkers on the board that has representatives from 15 states bordering on the Atlantic Ocean. His appointment pairs nicely with his promotion to chair of the environmental conservation committee, and adds to his rapidly expanding portfolio; he also was named Wednesday by Stewart-Cousins to serve as the Democratic conference’s liaison to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s office.
One of the region’s most contentious fishing issues is the ridiculously inequitable quota system for fluke that leaves New York commercial fishers with an unfairly low percentage of the catch. New York for years has tried to get the two federal commissions to right-size the quotas before Cuomo and Attorney General Letitia James announced a lawsuit against the federal government earlier this month. Now Kaminsky sits on one of those commissions that sets the quotas, and its first meeting is next week.
“None of the fishermen I’ve spoken to yet have brought up the fluke issue,” Kaminsky said.
They will. And it would be a nice feather — or fin — in an increasingly crowded cap if Kaminsky could land that one."
