NY S09304

Prohibits the use of trawls, gill nets, and trammel nets in all New York waters and within one-half mile thereof, with an exception only for scientific purposes authorized by the Department of Environmental Conservation

Repeals existing geographic-specific trawling restrictions (covering areas like Lake Erie, Long Island Sound, Great South Bay, and various bays and inlets) and replaces them with a statewide ban

Removes provisions allowing gill nets for commercial lobster bait fishing and eliminates seasonal gill net restrictions on the Hudson River for striped bass

Eliminates lobster harvesting by otter trawl, limiting legal methods to pots, traps, skin diving, SCUBA, or by hand

Takes effect one year after becoming law, with regulatory agencies authorized to begin implementing rules immediately upon passage