Suffolk Bill Aims to Protect Commercial Fishing Industry

Eric Koepele, who four years ago switched careers from the technology industry to oyster, harvesting, has always hoped to make his new field “multi-generational.” He asked his wife and children to join him on the water.

But now, Koepele, owner of North Fork Big Oyster, in Southold, is feeling squeezed by developers who are building expensive condos and homes near the waterfront.

“We’re lacking diversity on the waterfront,” Koepele told Dan’s Papers. “We’re still there” on the waterfront, he said, “but many feel they are being forced out.”

The Suffolk County Legislature is considering a bill that, it says, will help commercial fishermen. The bill, now in committee, will allow property owners of commercial fishing businesses to apply for a conservation easement that would restrict future development.

The bill was supposed to come to a vote late in 2024, but is now being studied to broaden its scope. The bill did receive positive support at a public hearing in November before the full legislature.

Earlier in 2024, Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine signed legislation increasing spending for farmland preservation to $15 million annually. He said the commercial fishing industry needed support as well.

According to the legislation, any type of business that contributes to working waterfronts, such as gear storage, aquaculture, docks, boat repairs, could benefit from the pending legislation.

The legislation is similar to one the county approved a decade ago to protect farmland in Suffolk. County officials say some 20,000 acres of Suffolk farmland has been preserved.

“It has been determined that this important program may be applicable in much broader situations,” Romaine said in a statement. This, he said, will provide “additional economic development opportunities” for the county.

The disappearance of waterfront property has been an issue for years, as developers have moved in, leaving less room for the commercial fishing industry.

“The economics of our business don’t live up to way waterfront property is prices,” said Koepele.

The bill before the county legislature is co-sponsored by Legis. Ann Welker (D-Southampton) and Legis. Catherine Stark (R-Riverhead.)

Welker called the legislation “critically important.”

The way the bill would work is that a property owner seeking a conservation easement would have to submit a proposal to be reviewed by the Suffolk County Parks Department’s board of trustees. The board could recommend the proposal to the county legislature, which would be required to hold a public hearing before it could take a vote on the matter.

Bonnie Brady, executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, in Montauk, is promoting the bill, she told Dan’s Papers.

“I’m hopeful they will get it done shortly,” Brady said. “It’s as important as farmland. It’s vitally important.”

She added that the commercial fishing industry is becoming more and more difficult as waterfront property is scooped up.

Commercial fishing has been a major industry on Long Island for decades, but one in need of aid. In 1988, Suffolk County formed a Fisheries Task Force to help the industry find new sources of financing for large fishing vessels.

One issue was increasing pressure for dock space, which was driving fishermen further and further east.

Long Island’s fishing history dates back 400 years, to the 1800s, when many North Shore ports were whaling hubs. The industry has faced severe challenges, and has overall declined since 1985, when a brown tide damaged the scallop crops and overfishing depleted other fish and shellfish. Scientists at the State University of Stony Brook have succeeded to combating some of the damage at Shinnecock Bay.

A decrease in dock space has meant fewer fish being caught in such large ports as Montauk and Hampton Bays-Shinnecock.

Greenport village was once a major area for commercial fishing, but restaurants, bars and hotels have taken over. Village officials said the county’s bill “would be enormously helpful.”

Mary Bess Phillips, Greenport village’s deputy mayor, said commercial fishing is still thriving on the North Fork, but conditions were more difficult for fishermen on the South Fork.

Waterfront property must be protected, she said.

Koepele said Long Island’s oyster market has shrunk dramatically, to about 8 million oysters a year. He said the number should be about 80 million per year.

“There’s a lot of room for growth here,” Koepele said.