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H. 4119
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Limehouse, Tripp, Koon, Whipper, Altman, Bailey, Barfield, G. Brown, Cato, Ceips, Clark, Clemmons, Davenport, Duncan, Emory, Frye, Gilham, Hagood, Hamilton, Harrell, Haskins, J. Hines, Hinson, Huggins, Littlejohn, Mahaffey, Martin, Merrill, Owens, Phillips, Pinson, E.H. Pitts, M.A. Pitts, Rivers, Rutherford, Scarborough, Sinclair, W.D. Smith, Snow, Taylor, Thompson, Umphlett, Whitmire and Young
Document Path: l:\council\bills\gjk\20554sd03.doc
Introduced in the House on April 30, 2003
Currently residing in the House Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs
Summary: Recreational fishing in the marine waters
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number
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4/30/2003 House Introduced and read first time HJ-96
4/30/2003 House Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources
and Environmental Affairs HJ-96
View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 50-1-75 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT RECREATIONAL FISHING IN THE MARINE WATERS OF THIS STATE SHALL NOT BE CLOSED TO ROD AND REEL FISHING EXCEPT UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. (A) The General Assembly finds and declares:
(1) that recreational fishing is one of the most popular outdoor sporting activities in this State. The vast number of individuals who take to the waters of South Carolina for the purpose of recreational fishing makes a substantial contribution to the economics of this State. Recreational fishing also makes a substantial contribution to the quality of life in this State. In fact, according to a 2002 report produced by Southwick Associates, Inc., Fernandina Beach, Florida, and Outdoor Heritage Education Center, Shakopec, Minnesota, approximately three hundred fifty thousand anglers fished in South Carolina waters in 2001 a total of over two million fishing days for a total economic output of five hundred eighteen million dollars;
(2) that recreational fishermen have long demonstrated a conservation ethic through their abidance with fishery management laws and regulations including minimum size requirements, bag limits, and seasonal closures, as well as through their use of nonlethal fishing gear;
(3) that the ocean, bays, and estuaries are some of South Carolina's most important natural resources. Effective planning, assessment, and management in the conservation of the resources of the ocean, bays, and estuaries are important tools which must be utilized effectively to protect the marine environment; and
(4) that the marine environment can be adequately protected without unnecessary closing off areas of this state's ocean, bays, or estuaries to rod and reel fishermen.
(B) The General Assembly therefore declares the necessity for the enactment of this legislation to ensure that the fishing public's interest and the interests of the marine environment are both adequately protected.
SECTION 2. Chapter 1, Title 50 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 50-1-75. The General Assembly in enacting laws related to recreational fishing and the Department of Natural Resources in implementing these laws shall ensure that the marine waters of this State shall not be closed to rod and reel fishing unless:
(1) there is a clear indication that the fishing is the cause of a specific conservation problem and that less severe conservation measures including, but not limited to, minimum size requirements, bag limits, or seasonal closures will not adequately provide for conservation of the affected stocks of fish;
(2) the closed area regulations include specific measurable criteria to determine the conservation benefit of the closed area on the affected stocks of fish and provide a timetable for periodic review of the continued need for the closed area at least once every three years;
(3) the closed area is no larger than that which is supported by the best available scientific information as determined by the Department of Natural Resources; or
(4) provisions are made to reopen the closed area to rod and reel fishing whenever the basis for the closure no longer exists."
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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