A.
The regulation for and control of the taking of shellfish from the
waters and lands under waters in the Town of Southampton are deemed
to protect the propagation of such shellfish, to preserve public peace
and good order and to protect the public health and welfare.
B.
Shellfish may be taken by a freeholder, resident or taxpayer upon
first applying for and obtaining a shellfish permit from the Town
Trustees. Such permit shall expire on the last day of the third year
after the date of issue. The permit fee, if any, shall be established
by resolution duly adopted by the Board of Trustees.
C.
Shellfish may be taken by a temporary resident upon first applying
for and obtaining a temporary resident permit from the Southampton
Town Trustees. Permits shall expire on the date marked thereon. Temporary
residents must show a lease or a receipt for payment from a motel,
hotel, rental or rooming house with date(s) showing length of stay
in Southampton Town. The permit fee shall be established by resolution
duly adopted by the Board of Trustees.
D.
Shellfish may be taken for commercial purposes by a freeholder or
resident over the age of 16 years upon first applying for and obtaining
a commercial permit from the Board of Trustees. The permit shall expire
on the 31st day of December in the year of issue. A freeholder or
resident under the age of 16 years may obtain a commercial permit
with parental consent. The permit fee shall be established by resolution
duly adopted by the Board of Trustees.
E.
Commercial shellfish permits shall only be issued to persons who
have met the Trustees' eligibility requirements, all of which indicate
the resident's name and a street address in the Town of Southampton.
F.
Shellfish may be taken without obtaining a permit hereunder by one
guest of a residential permittee, if accompanied by such permittee,
or by a child under the age of 16 years who is a member of the immediate
family of a freeholder, resident or taxpayer. A guest shall be deemed
to be one person with the permittee for all purposes hereunder. This
subsection shall not apply to a commercial permittee.
G.
No person shall take shellfish of any kind from the waters of the
Town of Southampton by means of, or with the aid of, any device or
implement commonly used in the art or practice of scuba diving or
by means of, or with the aid of, any device designed to permit submergence
beneath the surface of the water beyond normal capability. Such taking
is permitted with the use of a snorkel device.
A.
Any person qualified as set forth above may obtain a permit for taking
shellfish from the waters or lands under the waters of the Town of
Southampton by making an application therefor and paying the fee as
set forth above.
B.
Residential application shall be made in duplicate, in writing, in
the form prescribed by the Trustees and shall state:
(1)
Applicant's full name.
(2)
The applicant's residence with a street and number, if any.
(3)
The length of the applicant's residence in the Town of Southampton.
(4)
The applicant's age, sex, height, and color of eyes and hair.
(5)
The applicant's domicile outside the Town of Southampton, with street
and number, if any.
(6)
The applicant's real property owned in the Town of Southampton, with
street and number, if any.
C.
Any permits issued hereunder shall become void if the holder ceases
to be a freeholder, resident, temporary resident or taxpayer.
D.
Permits shall be in the form prescribed by the Trustees and shall
contain matters set forth upon the application. The original application
shall be filed in the Trustees' office, and a duplicate application
in the office of the Town Clerk.
E.
Permits shall not be transferable, and any person engaged in taking
shellfish from the waters and lands under the waters of the Town of
Southampton shall be obligated to disclose his name, address and current
permit number to any enforcement officer. Failure to do so shall be
presumptive evidence that such person has not obtained such permit.
F.
The Town Clerk, or Trustees, when any permit hereunder is issued,
shall deliver simultaneously to the permittee a copy of the Rules
and Regulations for the Management and Products of the Waters of the
Town of Southampton then in force and effect.
G.
Commercial shellfish permits require additional information, as set
forth by the Trustees, on the current application form.
A.
The taking of shellfish is restricted to such tidal and brackish
bodies of water as are certified for the taking of shellfish by the
Trustees and by the Department of Environmental Conservation of the
State of New York.
B.
The taking of shellfish from all freshwater bodies within the Town
is prohibited.
A.
No oysters shall be taken from the bottom of the waters of the Town
of Southampton by any dredge or mechanical device operated or powered
either by sail or by engine or motor.
B.
No oysters shall be taken from the bottom or from any object affixed
or appended to the bottom of the waters of the Town of Southampton
between the hours of sunset and sunrise.
C.
In Mecox Bay, oysters shall be taken only by means of hand-operated
oyster tongs or an eagle-claw or scratch rake not to exceed 24 inches
in width.
A.
Escallops may be taken with a dredge or scrape, such dredge or scrape
having an opening at the mouth not to exceed 36 inches in width, when
towed by a boat operated by mechanical power or other means, provided
that such dredge or scrape is brought aboard by hand power without
the use of a mechanical device, only from the bottom of the following
described waters within the Town of Southampton:
B.
No escallops shall be taken from Town waters between the hours of
sunset and sunrise.
C.
Escallops may be taken from the Town waters of the Town of Southampton
during the period from the first Monday in November to March 31, both
inclusive, in each year. Bay escallops shall not be taken on Sundays
by use of a dredge or other device operated by power.
D.
Only bay escallops having an annual growth line and measuring not
less than 2 1/4 inches from the middle of the hinge to the middle
of the bill may be taken. Bay escallops which do not meet the requirements
of this section shall be returned immediately to the waters where
taken. No more than three bushels of unculled escallops shall be on
board any boat at any time.
A.
No clams shall be taken from Town waters between the hours of sunset
and sunrise.
B.
Hard clams measuring less than one inch in thickness shall be returned
immediately to the waters of the place where taken.
C.
No hard clams shall be taken from the bottom of the waters of the
Town of Southampton by any tool, instrument or device except the common
rake and tongs used and operated by hand alone.
D.
No hard clams shall be uncovered or located by any mechanically operated
or power-driven propeller or by any other mechanically operated or
power-driven device or means, and no cover, whether plant life or
bottom material, shall be removed by any such mechanically operated
or power-driven propeller or by such other mechanically operated or
power driven device or means.
E.
Long-lining hard clams:
(1)
Long-lining hard clams by holders of a Southampton Town commercial
shellfish permit shall be allowed within the area of Shinnecock Bay
defined below:
Starting from a point 150 feet due south of the terminus of
Atterbury Road remaining a distance of 150 feet offshore to the west
side of the Middle Pond inlet; thence from an oak pole on the east
side of the Middle Pond inlet to an oak pole on the west side of Fort
Pond inlet; thence due east to a point 150 feet offshore of the Shinnecock
Indian Reservation; thence southerly along the shoreline of the Shinnecock
Indian Reservation remaining 150 feet offshore to a point on the southwesterly
portion of the Shinnecock Indian Reservation locally known as "Volkswagen
Point," thence due south to the northern edge of the Heady Creek channel;
thence generally northwesterly along the northern edge of the Heady
Creek channel to its entrance in Shinnecock Bay; thence northwesterly
to a point 1,000 yards due south of Atterbury Road; and then due north
back to the starting point.
(3)
Special restriction: Should either oak pole mentioned in the
definition of the area be missing due to ice, storm or for any other
reason long lining is immediately suspended between Middle Pond and
Fort Pond until the missing pole(s) is (are) replaced.
F.
Towing of clam rakes is prohibited in all Town waters.
A.
No clams shall be taken from Town waters between the hours of sunset
and sunrise.
B.
Soft clams measuring less than 1 1/2 inches in length shall
be returned immediately to the waters of the place where taken except
for propagation purposes in Town waters, and this may be done only
after a written permit therefor has been granted by the Town Trustees
upon written application therefor, subject to the supervision of the
said Trustees or a committee thereof.
C.
Harvesting methods: The methods for taking soft clams (Mya arenaria)
from Southampton Town waters shall apply as follows:
(1)
A resident or taxpayer who holds a valid Southampton Town resident
shellfish permit may take soft clams using any of the several types
of traditional devices commonly employed for the hand digging of shellfish.
(2)
A resident who holds a valid Southampton Town commercial shellfish
permit may hand dig for soft clams or employ the harvesting technique
commonly known as "churning."
D.
Mechanical constraints:
(1)
The maximum size outboard engine used for churning shall not
exceed 20 HP as rated by the manufacturer.
(2)
The traditional frame used to house the outboard engine shall
be the only acceptable mounting device when churning. The frame shall
be designed to keep the propeller above underlying soils during operation.
E.
Environmental protection:
(1)
When hand digging or churning in areas adjacent to tidal banks,
edges or beach slopes vegetated with spartina grass communities (alterniflora,
patens), harvesting may not occur closer than four lineal feet at
any point to the seaward edge of the primary emergent grass commonly
known as "cordgrass" (Spartina alterniflora). Distance shall be measured
from the base of the vertical bank, or edge or seaward side of a vegetated
slope.
(2)
During periods of dormancy, this rule shall be understood to
mean that hand digging and churning methods may not occur closer than
four lineal feet to the seaward edge of any unvegetated bank, edge
or beach slope composed in part or whole of organic bog-like materials
and soils commonly associated with Spartina alterniflora.
(3)
Churning over or through submerged eelgrass beds is strictly
prohibited.
F.
Navigation and public safety:
(1)
The harvesting of soft clams by churning or hand digging is
strictly prohibited along the seaward face and/or closer than 50 lineal
feet to the sides of any public ramp or public access point to Southampton
Town waters and other estuarine areas or within the regulatory jurisdiction
of the Southampton Town Trustees.
(2)
Churning closer than 10 lineal feet to the lower edge of any
navigable channel or passage is prohibited.
G.
Seasonal closings:
(1)
The taking of soft clams (Mya arenaria) shall be based on the
establishment of a soft clam controlled harvest zone commencing each
year on the first day of April and ending on the 15th day of May.
(2)
In order to promote natural propagation and a sustained population
of soft clams (Mya arenaria) in Southampton Town waters, the following
Town waters are included in a controlled harvest zone and are subject
to being periodically closed to the taking of soft clams:
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Birch Creek
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Cold Spring Pond
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Davis Creek (North Sea)
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Fresh Pond
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Goose Creek
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Hubbard Creek
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Little Sebonac Creek
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Mill Creek (Flanders)
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Mill Creek (Noyack)
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North Sea Harbor
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Noyack Creek
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Red Creek Pond
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Sag Harbor Cove
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Scallop Pond
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Sebonac Creek
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Squires Pond
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West Neck Creek
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Wooley Pond
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A.
No person shall take female crabs bearing eggs visible thereon from
Town waters, or offer for sale or possess same within the Town of
Southampton.
B.
Crabs may be taken with a dredge, such dredge having an opening at
the mouth not to exceed 36 inches in width, when towed by a boat operated
by mechanical power or other means, provided that such dredge is brought
aboard by hand power without the use of a mechanical device.
C.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall take
blue claw crabs less than five inches from point to point by any means
from any Town waters.
D.
A commercial permittee shall have no limit on the number of blue
claw crabs he may take per day. All other permittees may take up to
50 blue claw crabs per day.
E.
Crabbing is prohibited between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 5:00
a.m.
[Added 7-17-2023]
If any fish and/or crustaceans are unintentionally taken, contrary
to any provision hereof, they shall be returned to the water at once,
without unnecessary injury. Starfish, drills, drum fish and moon snails,
when taken, shall not be returned alive to the waters of the Town
of Southampton.
A.
Escallops:
(1)
A commercial permittee may take five level bushels per day. Two or
more such persons occupying the same boat while taking escallops may
take, in the aggregate, not more than 10 level bushels in one day.
(2)
All noncommercial permittees may take, individually, one bushel per
day.
(3)
Whenever the total catch on board a boat exceeds the authorized
limit, all licensed persons on board shall be deemed in violation.
B.
All other shellfish, as defined herein, except escallops:
(1)
Commercial permittee: to be determined by the Board prior to opening
day.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Pursuant to notice dated 6-24-2024, "...there
shall be a daily boat limit on the commercial harvesting of hard clams
(mercenaria) of 2,000 in all the certified area of Eastern Shinnecock
Bay (SS13) and Western Shinnecock Bay (SS12). These shellfish limits
are specifically for Eastern and Western Shinnecock Bay. There will
be no harvesting of shellfish in the designated shellfish sanctuaries
that the Trustees have established in order to prevent an overfishing
of the species on Trustee-owned bottomland." This notice also provided
that this restriction is effective at sunrise on 6-28-2024, and shall
remain in effect until repealed by the Board.
(2)
Noncommercial permittees may take, individually, 1/2 bushel of combined
shellfish, of which no more than 100 may be hard clams.
(3)
Whenever the total catch on board a boat exceeds the authorized
limit, all licensed persons on board shall be deemed in violation.
C.
Razor clam harvest restrictions:
(1)
No razor clams shall be taken from Town waters between the hours
of sunset to sunrise.
(2)
Harvest methods: The methods for taking razor clams (scientific
name: Ensis directus) from Southampton Town waters shall apply as
follows:
(a)
A resident or taxpayer who holds a valid Southampton Town resident
shellfish permit may take razor clams using any of the several types
of traditional devices commonly employed for the hand digging of shellfish.
(b)
A resident who holds a valid Southampton Town commercial shellfish
permit may dig for razor clams or employ the harvesting technique
commonly known as "churning."
(3)
Mechanical constraints:
(a)
The maximum size outboard engine used for churning shall not
exceed 20 hp as rated by the manufacturer.
(b)
The traditional frame used to house the outboard engine shall
be the only acceptable mounting device when churning. The frame shall
be designed to keep the propeller above underlying bay bottom during
operation.
(5)
Environmental protection:
(a)
When hand digging or churning in areas adjacent to tidal banks,
edges or beach slopes vegetated with spartina grass communities (alterniflora,
patens), harvesting may not occur closer than four lineal feet at
any point to the seaward edge of primary emergent grass commonly known
as "cordgrass" (Spartina alterniflora). Distance shall be measured
from the base of the vertical bank, or edge or seaward side of a vegetated
slope.
(b)
During periods of dormancy, this rule shall be understood to
mean that hand digging and churning methods may not occur closer than
four lineal feet to the seaward edge of any unvegetated bank, edge
or beach slop composed in part or whole of organic bog-like materials
and soils commonly associated with Spartina alterniflora.
(c)
When churning for razor clams, a ten-foot buffer from all submerged
eelgrass beds must be maintained. Churning over or through eelgrass
beds is strictly prohibited.
(6)
Navigation and public safety:
(a)
The harvesting of razor clams by churning or hand digging is
strictly prohibited along the seaward face and/or closer than 50 lineal
feet to the sides of any public ramp or public access point to Southampton
Town waters and other estuarine areas or within the regulatory jurisdiction
of the Southampton Town Trustees.
(b)
Churning closer than 10 lineal feet to the lower edge of any
navigable channel or passage is prohibited.
D.
No person without a commercial license issued by the Town of Southampton
shall take shellfish while in the company of, or on board a boat with,
a commercial permittee.
A.
This article shall be enforced by any duly constituted law enforcement
agency having jurisdiction within the Town of Southampton and the
Bay Constables of the Town of Southampton.
B.
The provisions of this article are declared to be severable. If any
section, sentence, clause or phrase thereof shall for any reason be
held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect
the validity of the remaining sections, sentences, clauses and phrases
of this article, but they shall remain in effect, it being the legislative
intent that this article shall stand notwithstanding the invalidity
of any part.
A.
The Trustees are hereby authorized from time to time to modify, amend
or change the method or equipment used in taking shellfish whenever,
in their discretion, they deem it necessary to protect shellfish propagation
or if shellfish are in short supply or their existence in Town waters
is endangered, upon giving not less than three days' notice by causing
such notice to be published on the official website of the Town Trustees
and on the official website of the Town of Southampton. Such notice
shall contain the modification, amendment or change in the method
or equipment used in taking shellfish and a brief explanatory statement
thereof.
B.
The Trustees are hereby authorized from time to time to increase
or decrease the limits on shellfish to be taken in one day whenever,
in their discretion, they deem it necessary for the protection of
shellfish in Town waters, upon giving not less than three days' notice
by causing such notice to be published on the official website of
the Town Trustees and on the official website of the Town of Southampton.
Such notice shall contain the limitation imposed on the number of
shellfish to be taken in one day and a brief explanatory statement
thereof.
C.
The Trustees are hereby authorized from time to time to set the date
and the period of time for taking shellfish whenever, in their discretion,
they deem it necessary for the protection and taking of shellfish
in Town waters, upon giving not less than three days' notice by causing
such notice to be published on the official website of the Town Trustees
and on the official website of the Town of Southampton. Such notice
shall contain the date and period of time for taking shellfish and
a brief explanatory statement thereof.
A.
Spawner sanctuaries are located within the following Southampton
Town waters:
(1)
North Shore:
[Amended 11-20-2023]
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Cold Spring Pond beginning at a point 40°.8999951N, 72°.4548847W,
and running in an easterly direction to a point at 40°.9001271N,
72°4545561W, then running in a southerly direction to a point
at 40°.8998826N, 72°4543901W, then running in a northerly
direction to the point of beginning (40°.8999951N, 72°.4548847W),
an area of approximately 100 feet by 100 feet, more or less.
Cold Spring Pond beginning at a point on the shoreline of the
pond adjacent to Cold Spring Road at 40°9040329, 72°.4666289,
then following the shoreline in a northeasterly direction to a point
located at 40.904454, 72°.466127, then following the shoreline
in a southeasterly direction to 40°.9035305, 72°.4663113,
then crossing the pond to a point on the opposite shoreline located
at 40°.9033323, 72°.4663113, then following the shoreline
in a northerly direction back to the point of beginning.
Mill Creek
North Sea Harbor
Noyac Creek
Red Creek Pond
Sag Harbor Cove
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(2)
South Shore:
[Amended 7-9-2019]
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Moriches Bay (west of Pickett Point)
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Old Fort Pond
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Quantuck Bay
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Shinnecock Bay West (northern portion), specifically all those
Southampton Town waters lying north of the following line:
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Beginning at a point on the southeasterly shore of Penniman's
Creek at (40° 49' 13.595"N, 72° 34' 56.709"W); and running
in a southerly direction to point at (40° 49' 8.737"N, 72°
34' 55.853"W), said point being the northerly edge of the Intracoastal
Waterway; and continuing in a northeasterly direction along the northerly
edge of said Intracoastal Waterway to the following point (40°
49' 12.851"N, 72° 34' 50.317"W); and further continuing in a northeasterly
direction along the northerly edge of said Intracoastal Waterway to
the following point (40° 49'50.133"N, 72° 34' 7.621"W); and
continuing in a northeasterly direction to point (40° 50' 23.13"N,
72° 33' 37.702"W), said point being the shoreline seaward of the
boundary line between the residential property at 48 Landing Road,
East Quogue and the boat basin property now of formerly of the Pine
Neck Landing Association, East Quogue.
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Taylor Creek in Heady Creek
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Tiana Bay
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Weesuck Creek
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B.
Spawner sanctuaries within Southampton Town waters are off limits
to commercial and recreational shellfish harvesting. For more specific
information see the map at the Southampton Trustees' office or on
the website.
