NY (Reuters) – New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed into law legislation that bans fishing vessels entering New York’s Hudson Valley fishery waters in the event of an imminent and imminent threat of an environmental disaster.
The state Assembly approved the bill late on Tuesday and Cuomo signed it into law by voice vote in the state Senate.
The legislation prohibits vessels from fishing in the Hudson Valley from Jan. 1, 2020, unless authorized by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
The bill also prohibits fishing vessels and all other fishing vessels, including those used to transport fish, from entering the state’s waters during a state of emergency or an act of national emergency declared by the president of the United States.
In its initial proposal to Congress, Cuomo’s office estimated that between 1,500 and 2,500 vessels in the United Kingdom, Spain and France would be affected by a planned cruise by a ship carrying up to 30 tons of toxic algae.
That is less than the amount that could be caught by a small boat in New York Bay.
The state estimates that more than 600 ships in the U.S. and Canada could be affected.
The governor’s office said that under the proposed law, New York would be the only state in the nation to ban the practice of allowing fishing vessels into the Hudson River, which is the only way in and out of the region.
The Hudson Valley’s fishery is an important part of the state economy, with thousands of tourists coming from across the United Sates each year to fish and fish in the region’s rivers and bayous.
Cuomo has previously signed legislation that has blocked the sale of whale oil in the Gulf of Mexico and a bill that prohibits the sale and use of whale meat in the Great Lakes region.
In February, Cuomo signed a law that banned the sale, import and use in the New York state of whale shark fin and fin soup, which are considered delicacies by many Chinese.
A bill in the House would also ban the sale or importation of shark fin soup into New York.
In a statement, Cuomo said the legislation “will help protect our oceans and the Hudson valley from the worst of the global threat posed by climate change.”
“It is critical that New Yorkers continue to protect our waters and oceans from this threat,” Cuomo said.