In a local news brief the commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Conservation pledged to work with local commercial fishermen to change a federal quota system on fluke they say is crippling the Long Island fleet. DEC commissioner Pete Grannis said at a meeting at the Shinnecock Commercial Dock, that the LI commercial fishermen have been taking a beating, and we’re prepared to work with them to do what it takes to change it.
Rep. Tim Bishop (D-Southampton), who has backed the cause and arranged the meeting, opined that the matter is serious as it impacting both the regional economy and an important heritage. He added that the economic viability of a large number of families” and businesses are at stake. It is told that commercial fishing is part of the heritage on Long Island, particularly eastern Long Island. Fluke, a mild white fish, has long been a popular and abundant staple of the East Coast commercial fleet.
Jim Gilmore, chief of the DEC’s Bureau of Marine Resources, revealed that the DEC will pilot a program in the fall to allow combined weekly limits for fluke. He further said that it would replace existing daily limits, to make trips more feasible. It is told that the ratios pay no regard to where the fish are caught, so ships from other states fish among Long Islanders and can take in up to four times more.
