[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Shelter Island 9-21-2001 by L.L. No. 13-2001.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law also repealed
former Ch. 108, Shellfish, adopted 7-10-1964, as amended.
This chapter shall be known as the "Shellfish
Ordinance of the Town of Shelter Island."
[Amended 12-12-2023 by L.L. No. 15-2023]
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The agitation and/or displacement of Town lands with a propeller
for the purpose of taking soft clams and razor clams.
The place you intend to have as your permanent home, where
your permanent home is located, and the place you intend to return
to after being away (as on vacation, business assignments, educational
leave, or military assignment).
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
One quarter of a bushel; two gallons.
A person who, during the period of not less than 12 months
immediately preceding his or her application for a permit hereunder,
has had a principal place of abode and domicile in and shall have
actually and continuously resided within the Town of Shelter Island
for said twelve-month period.
For purposes of this chapter, "shellfish" shall include blue
crabs, crabs, scallops, hard clams, lobsters, mussels of all kinds,
oysters, periwinkles, razor clams, shrimp, whelks, conchs and soft
clams.
A permit issued by the NYSDEC to allow the commercial taking
of shellfish.
A person who owns real property as shown on the assessment
rolls of the Town of Shelter Island but is not a resident as defined
herein.
All waters and lands under tidewater in any harbor, bay,
lake or creek, title to which § 1. land is vested in the
Town of Shelter Island, and the right of fishing which is vested in
the Town of Shelter Island.
No person shall take any shellfish from Town lands except in
accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
[Amended 12-12-2023 by L.L. No. 15-2023]
B.Â
Notwithstanding the above, a child or guest of any permittee may
take shellfish without a permit, provided that he or she is accompanied
by the permittee for all purposes hereunder, and the child or guest
and permittee together shall be deemed one permittee for the purposes
of this chapter.
C.Â
Types of permits; fees.
(2)Â
Each of the two types created hereby shall be valid for the period
commencing January 1 and ending December 31 of the following year,
or as otherwise provided herein.
(3)Â
The Town Board may, by resolution, set and from time to time adjust
the fee to be paid for each type of permit.
(4)Â
One permit. No person shall hold both a commercial and recreational
permit at any one time.
D.Â
Application; information required; Shellfish Review Board.
(1)Â
An application for a recreational or commercial permit shall be submitted
to the Town Clerk, in writing, and shall include but not be limited
to:
(a)Â
The applicant's name.
(b)Â
The applicant's residence address with street and number.
(c)Â
The applicant's age, sex, height and color of eyes and
hair.
(d)Â
For recreational permits, the applicant's domicile address
outside of the Town of Shelter Island with street and number, if any.
For commercial permits, the applicant's domicile shall be shown
to be within the Town of Shelter Island.
(e)Â
A description of applicant's real property owned in the
Town of Shelter Island with street number, if any, and with Tax Map
number.
(2)Â
Each applicant for a recreational permit shall submit to the Town
Clerk for inspection one of the following:
(a)Â
A valid New York State driver's license or vehicle registration
in the name of the applicant, setting forth an address located within
the boundaries of the Town of Shelter Island;
(b)Â
A validated tax receipt stub for the current year for any taxable
property located within the boundaries of the Town of Shelter Island.
If the subject property is owned by an LLC or the like, a duly authorized
individual person of the entity must be identified as an applicant,
subject to confirmation by the Town Attorney;
(c)Â
A valid voter registration card indicating place of residence
as being within the boundaries of the Town of Shelter Island; or
(d)Â
A copy of a lease of property within the Town of Shelter Island,
the term of which shall be a minimum of one year. Said recreational
permit shall expire with the expiration of the lease or March 31,
whichever is earlier.
(e)Â
In the case of an applicant for a recreational permit who is unable to produce items in Subsection D(2)(a), (b), (c), or (d) above, the applicant may appeal to the Shellfish Permit Review Board to provide evidence that they are indeed a resident or taxpayer, including being identified as such by a bona fide resident known to the Board. The name of the resident identifying the applicant shall be noted on the application.
(3)Â
Each applicant for a commercial permit shall submit to the Town Clerk
for inspection all of the following:
(a)Â
A valid New York State driver's license, vehicle registration
in the name of the applicant or a valid New York non-driver's
identification card, setting forth an address located within the boundaries
of the Town of Shelter Island;
(b)Â
A validated tax receipt stub for the current year for any taxable
property located within the boundaries of the Town of Shelter Island
or a copy of a lease of property within Shelter Island Town, the term
of which shall be a minimum of one year. Said commercial permit shall
expire with the expiration of the lease or March 31, whichever is
earlier. If the subject property is owned by an LLC or the like, a
duly authorized individual person of the entity must be identified
as an applicant, subject to confirmation by the Town Attorney;
(c)Â
A valid voter registration card indicating applicant's
place of residence as being within the boundaries of the Town of Shelter
Island or an affidavit by applicant that he or she is a registered
voter but does not possess a voter registration card, or is not a
registered voter in any jurisdiction and that he or she is a resident
of the Town of Shelter Island; and
(d)Â
A valid Resident New York State Shellfish Digger's Resident
Permit.
(e)Â
In the case of an applicant for a commercial permit who is unable to produce items in Subsection D(3)(a), (b), (c) and/or (d) above, the Town Clerk shall refer the applicant to the Shellfish Permit Review Board which shall provide the applicant and residents of the Town of Shelter Island with the opportunity to present evidence regarding applicant's residence and New York State permit status.
E.Â
Form of permit; nontransferability; evidence of permit.
(1)Â
Permits shall be on the form prescribed by the Town Clerk and contain the matters set forth in Subsection D above. The original application shall be filed in the Town Clerk's office and the permit shall be issued by the Shelter Island Town Clerk.
(2)Â
Permits shall be nontransferable.
(3)Â
Any person engaged in taking shellfish from Town lands under water
shall locate his permit so that it shall be immediately available
to any enforcing officer. Failure to do so shall be presumptive evidence
that such person does not possess a shellfish permit.
(4)Â
Every commercial permittee shall by April 30 submit an annual harvest
report to the Shellfish Permit Review Board.
F.Â
Shellfish Permit Review Board. The Shellfish Permit Review Board shall consist of the Town Attorney, a Harbormaster, and a resident shell fisherman to be appointed by the Town Board. The Shellfish Permit Review Board shall determine qualifications pursuant to §§ 108-4D(2)(e) and 108-4D(3); determine whether revocation is required pursuant to § 108-4H; and provide an annual update to the Town Board on the state of the Shelter Island Bays.
G.Â
Expiration. All permits shall expire on the date indicated on the permit unless sooner revoked in accordance with Subsection H.
H.Â
Revocation. All permits issued pursuant to this chapter shall become
null and void if the holder thereof ceases to be a resident or taxpayer
of the Town of Shelter Island or it is revoked by the Shellfish Permit
Review Board, after notice and a public hearing, upon a conviction
of a violation of this chapter.
[Amended 1-10-2003 by L.L. No. 1-2003; 12-12-2023 by L.L. No.
15-2023]
A.Â
No person shall take shellfish from Town lands between sunset and
sunrise other than whelks, conchs and crabs.
B.Â
No person shall take any shellfish from any Town lands which may
have been restricted for any purpose whatsoever by the Town Board,
provided that such restricted Town lands shall have been properly
designated by resolution duly passed by the Town Board, and shall
have been properly marked and/or posted.
C.Â
All persons are prohibited from taking shellfish from Town lands
by the use of churning, or by the use of dredges propelled or operated
in any manner other than by hand power, except that scallops may be
taken from Town lands by the use of dredges not more than 36 inches
in width, operated and hoisted by hand and towed by boats propelled
in any manner.
D.Â
A person with a recreational permit shall not take any more than
a half bushel of any type of shellfish from Town lands in any one
calendar day, except such person may take no more than 100 hard clams
daily, nor more than 24 whelks or conchs daily.
[Amended 11-13-2015 by L.L. No. 11-2015; 12-12-2023 by L.L. No. 15-2023]
A.Â
Hard clams.
(1)Â
It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to take from Town
lands any hard clams less than one inch in thickness at any time except
for propagation purposes in Town lands, and this may only be done
after a permit has been granted by the Town Board.
(2)Â
A person with a commercial shellfish permit may take up to a total
of five bushels of hard clams from Town lands in any one calendar
day.
B.Â
Soft clams and razor clams.
(1)Â
It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to take from Town
lands any soft clams (so-called) less than two inches long or any
razor clams less than four inches long, nor shall it be lawful for
such clams to be possessed at any time. Any such clams shall be immediately
returned to the lands at the place where taken.
(2)Â
A person with a commercial shellfish permit may take up to a total
of five bushels of soft clams and razor clams from Town lands in any
one calendar day.
C.Â
Crabs.
(1)Â
It shall be unlawful to take from Town lands any hard-shell blue-claw
crabs less than five inches point to point or soft-shell crabs less
than three inches point to point, and it shall be unlawful to take
sponge (egg-bearing) crabs from Town lands at any time.
(2)Â
The use of lights when taking crabs is permitted.
D.Â
Oysters.
(1)Â
It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to take any seed oysters
from Town lands without permission of the Town Board after written
request. Seed oysters are oysters less than three inches in length.
(2)Â
A person with a commercial shellfish Permit may take up to a total
of one peck of oysters in the shell from Town lands in any one calendar
day.
E.Â
Scallops.
(1)Â
Scallops may be taken from Town lands from the Monday a week after
the DEC season opening date to the 31st day of March, inclusive, in
each and every year.
(2)Â
It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to take from Town
lands scallops which do not show the annual growth ring and have a
two-and-one-quarter-inch measurement from hinge to bill, nor shall
it be lawful for such scallops to be possessed at any time. Any scallops
not showing the annual growth ring taken from Town lands shall be
immediately returned to the lands at the place where taken.
(3)Â
A person with a commercial shellfish permit may take up to a total
of five United States bushels of scallops in the shell from Town lands
in any one calendar day. If there are two or more licensed persons
with commercial shellfish permit in any one boat taking scallops,
not more than 10 United States bushels of scallops in the shell shall
be taken by any one boat during any one calendar day, regardless of
the number of persons therein.
F.Â
Conch and whelks. It shall be unlawful for any person to take from
Town lands conchs or whelks that are less than 5Â 1/2 inches in
shell length or two-and-one-quarter-inch shell height. Any conch or
whelk not meeting said dimensional requirements shall be returned
alive from the place taken.
A.Â
In an effort to increase the amount of shellfish in
Shelter Island waters, Marine Reserve Zones which will be closed to
harvesting hard clams are hereby created and described as follows:
(1)Â
Pt. Foxen Creek in Coecles Harbor
|
Coordinates: 041° 04.0280' N, 072° 18.8740'
W
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|---|
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Area: approximately 100' x 100'
|
(2)Â
Head of Harbor in Coecles Harbor
|
Coordinates: 041° 05.1060' N, 072° 19.321'
W
|
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Area: approximately 100' x 100'
|
(3)Â
Menantic Creek
|
Coordinates: 041° 03.5480' N, 072° 20.5980'
W
|
|---|
|
Area: Approximately 10,000 square feet.
|
(4)Â
Harbor View Acres Cove
|
Coordinates: from point 41.06275 x 72.367 to
41.062333 x 72.367 to 41.062333 x 72.366516 to 41.062633 x 72.366566.
|
(5)Â
West Neck Creek
[Added 10-24-2008 by L.L. No. 10-2008]
|
Coordinates 41.05167° N x 72.35345°
W to 41.05190° N x 72.35328° W to 41.05170° N x 72.35273°
W to 41.05148° N x 72.35287° W. Approximately 170 feet by
91 feet
|
B.Â
The Marine Reserve Zones shall be marked with buoys
and a sign which demarcates the boundaries and explains the "no hard
clamming" policy.
C.Â
It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to
take any hard clams from any Town lands which are designated as Marine
Reserve Zones.
The Town Board reserves the right to change
the amount of shellfish permitted to be taken from Town lands by resolution.
[Amended 12-12-2023 by L.L. No. 15-2023]
An offense against the provisions of this chapter shall constitute
a violation under the Penal Law of the State of New York and shall
be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,500 or by imprisonment
for not more than 15 days, or both.
