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* Bill S4948 *

This is a final reminder to get your e-mails in to the Conservation Committee on S4948, a bill to prohibit commercial fishing for striped bass in the Hudson River. This bill would effectively make striped bass a game fish in the Hudson and has already passed the Assembly. S4948, the Senate version of this bill, is coming up for a hearing before the Environmental Conservation Committee on Feb. 23. The bill is sponsored by Senator Antoine M. Thompson, the Chairman of the committee. The Hudson is the second largest spawning ground for striped bass; keeping it free from the pressures of commercial gill netting is vital to the health of the striper population. We all need to get behind this bill now to make sure it takes effect.

Here is what you can do to help:

If you are a NY State resident you should e-mail or even better, phone, write and e-mail the office of your state senator today and tell him or her that you want their support for S4948, the bill to protect Hudson River striped bass from the pressures of commercial fishing. You should also send a copy of your e-mail or letter to all Senators on the Environmental Conservation committee.
If you are not a NY State resident you should still e-mail or write the Senators on the committee and tell them that striped bass spawned in the Hudson are important to the whole coastal fishery, and that they should be protected from commercial harvest. If you fish the Hudson for stripers, especially if you travel to get there, stay in a hotel, or fish with a guide, please be sure to point this out in your communication. The economic benefits are key rationale for this bill.

Here are the e-mail links that you will need:

For NY residents to find their State Senator: http://www.nysenate.gov/
To find the members of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee: http://www.nysenate.gov/committee/environmental-conservation

If you can do it, attending the committee hearing in person to show your support for the bill is also a very positive strategy.

Also, if you can believe it, NY commercial interests recently championed a motion at the ASMFC to increase the commercial quota to make way for a new directed dragger fishery for striped bass in NY state waters!!!! Don't think that without the protections afforded by S4948 that something devastating like that couldn't happen right in the Hudson.