New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 6 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION › Chapter I - FISH AND WILDLIFE › Subchapter F - MARINE FISHERIES › Part 43 - Surf Clam/ocean Quahog Fishery Management › Subpart 43-2 - Atlantic Ocean › Section 43-2.9 - Vessel monitoring system requirements

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a) Effective January 1, 2011, all persons
					 eligible to be issued a surfclam/ocean quahog Atlantic Ocean owner's permit for
					 surfclam harvest under an individual fishing quota (IFQ) must have installed on
					 the vessel an operational vessel monitoring system (VMS) unit that is approved
					 by the department prior to the issuance of such permit. The vessel owner must
					 activate the VMS unit and provide verification of vendor activation from a
					 department approved VMS vendor. All VMS vendors that are on an approved Federal
					 list maintained by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for the
					 surfclam individual transferable quota program in the exclusive economic zone
					 (EEZ) will be deemed acceptable for use in the New York State surfclam IFQ
					 fishery provided such vendors continue to satisfy the criteria as a
					 NMFS-approved vendor. Verification of vendor activation may be undertaken by
					 completing, signing, and mailing or faxing a VMS certification form to the
					 department.
(b) It is unlawful to
					 tamper with or input false positions or fishery-related information into any
					 VMS required under this section. The VMS shall be fully automated and
					 operational at all times, regardless of weather and environmental conditions,
					 unless exempted by the department.
(c) The VMS shall be capable of tracking
					 vessels in the waters of the marine and coastal district and all U.S. waters in
					 the Atlantic Ocean from the shoreline of each coastal state to a line 15 nm
					 offshore and shall provide position accuracy to within 400 m (1,300 ft). The
					 VMS shall be capable of transmitting and storing information including vessel
					 identification, date, time, and latitude/longitude.
(d) The VMS shall provide accurate position
					 transmissions at a frequency of every 15 minutes of every day of the year
					 unless otherwise directed or exempted by the department. In addition, the VMS
					 shall allow polling of individual vessels or any set of vessels at any time,
					 and receive position reports in real time. For the purposes of this section,
					 "real time" shall constitute data that reflect a delay of 15 minutes or less
					 between the displayed information and the vessel's actual position.
(e) The VMS shall be capable of providing
					 network message communications between the vessel and shore. The VMS shall
					 allow the department to initiate communications or data transfer at any
					 time.
(f) The VMS shall be capable
					 of providing vessel locations relative to the demarcation line of the New York
					 State boundary and waters of the EEZ.
(g) The VMS vendor must be capable of
					 transmitting position data to a department designated computer system via a
					 modem and in a file format acceptable to the department. The VMS vendor shall
					 be capable of archiving vessel position histories for a minimum of one year and
					 providing transmission to the department of specified portions of archived data
					 in response to any and all requests from the department.
(h) It is unlawful for any vessel to take,
					 possess, offload or attempt to take, possess or offload surfclams under an IFQ
					 without a fully operational and approved VMS.
(i) All VMS units installed on a vessel
					 operating under an IFQ must transmit a signal indicating the vessel's accurate
					 position at least every 15 minutes, 24 hours per day, throughout the year
					 unless exempted by the department. A vessel owner may apply for a letter of
					 exemption from the VMS transmitting requirements of this section by sending a
					 written request to the department. In order for a vessel to be considered for
					 exemption, one or more of the requirements must be met: The vessel must be
					 continuously out of the water for more than 72 consecutive hours or the vessel
					 will not engage in harvest of surfclams from the New York State waters of the
					 Atlantic Ocean for a minimum period of 30 consecutive days. The following
					 information must be included in such written request: Identification of the
					 vessel requesting the exemption; the location of the vessel during the time an
					 exemption is sought; the exact time period for which an exemption is needed
					 indicating the time the VMS signal will be turned off and turned on again; and,
					 reason supporting the request for exemption. Any requests for exemption shall
					 be subject to approval by the Director of the Division of Marine
					 Resources.
(j) Any vessel exempted
					 from the VMS transmitting requirements of this section must keep a copy of the
					 letter of exemption onboard the vessel at all times, and the vessel may not
					 turn off the VMS signal until the letter of exemption has been received. It is
					 unlawful for any vessel granted an exemption to be used to harvest, possess or
					 offload surfclams taken from the certified waters of the Atlantic
					 Ocean.
(k) If a new or replacement
					 VMS is necessary, the vessel owner must submit documentation to the department,
					 within three days of the installation and prior to the vessel's next trip,
					 verifying that the new VMS unit is an operational, approved system as described
					 in this section. Vessel owners must confirm the VMS operation and
					 communications service to the department as required under this
					 section.
(l) If a VMS unit fails to
					 transmit a signal of the vessel's position every 15 minutes, the vessel shall
					 be deemed in violation of this section unless there is sufficient evidence
					 documenting that the failure of the VMS to transmit was due to an unavoidable
					 malfunction or disruption of the transmission.
(m) Vessel owners or captain/operators issued
					 a surfclam/ocean quahog permit under this section for fishing in the IFQ
					 program are required to declare their intended fishing activity via VMS prior
					 to leaving port. Owners or operators that are transiting between ports or
					 fishing in a fishery other than the New York State surfclam fishery must either
					 declare out of fisheries or declare the appropriate fishery, if required, via
					 the VMS unit before leaving port. No vessel shall attempt to take, harvest,
					 possess or offload surfclams from the certified water of the Atlantic Ocean
					 unless they have complied with the declaration and notification requirements of
					 this section.