SENATE SENIOR CITIZENS, VETERANS' AFFAIRS AND AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE

 

STATEMENT TO

 

SENATE, No. 521

 

with committee amendments

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

DATED: FEBRUARY 15, 1996

 

      The Senate Senior Citizens, Veterans' Affairs and Agriculture Committee reports without recommendation Senate Bill No. 521, with committee amendments.

      As amended, this bill would amend the legal minimum size restrictions for the taking of lobster to bring them into conformance with the standards and requirements set by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) as authorized by federal law. New Jersey is a member of the ASMFC.

      The committee amended the bill to remove the authority of the Department of Environmental Protection to adopt rules and regulations providing for the taking and management of lobsters with provisions differing from, superseding, or supplementing the provisions of the current statutory law as amended by the bill.