SB 1310

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) Existing law provides that no person shall use a vessel to take, possess, or land Dungeness crab for commercial purposes using Dungeness crab traps without a Dungeness crab vessel permit. Existing law sets forth the qualifications for initial issuance of a permit, including a person's history of participating in the Dungeness crab fishery before the establishment of the permit program, provides that one category of permit issued pursuant to those provisions shall become null and void upon the death of the permittee, and provides a penalty for submitting false information in connection with initial issuance of the permit. Existing law provides for renewal of a permit. Existing law requires the owner of a permitted vessel to transfer the permit upon sale to the person purchasing the vessel. Existing law authorizes the owner of a permitted vessel to transfer the permit to a replacement vessel of equivalent capacity and authorizes a one-time transfer of the permit to a larger vessel that is 5 feet, 10 feet, or up to 20 feet longer, as provided, in length overall than the originally permitted vessel. This bill would delete the provisions relating to the initial issuance of a permit, except for the provision that makes one category of permit null and void upon the death of the permittee. The bill would prohibit issuance of a new, original Dungeness crab vessel permit and provide that a permit may only be issued pursuant to renewal or transfer of an existing permit. The bill would define the length overall of a vessel as the horizontal distance between the forward-most and after-most points on the hull, without including attachments fixed to the stern and bow. The bill would prohibit the transfer of a permit upon sale if the vessel is more than 5 feet longer in length overall than the baseline length on the permit, as specified. For transfer of a permit to a larger vessel, the bill would provide for the greater length overall to be determined in relation to the baseline length on the permit instead of the length overall of the originally permitted vessel. Under the bill, the baseline length on the permit would be either the length overall of the originally permitted vessel, as originally documented on the permit, or the current length overall of the current vessel, if the permitholder submits to the Department of Fish and Wildlife, on or before March 31, 2020, a survey reflecting a greater current length overall than the originally documented length. (2) Existing law establishes the Ocean Protection Council and requires the council to, among other things, coordinate activities of state agencies that are related to the protection and conservation of coastal waters and ocean ecosystems to improve the effectiveness of state efforts to protect ocean resources within existing fiscal limitations. Existing law requires the council to make a grant, upon appropriation of funding by the Legislature, for the development and administration of a Dungeness crab task force. Existing law requires the task force, among other things, to review and evaluate Dungeness crab management measures, with the objective of making initial recommendations by January 15, 2015, and final recommendations by January 15, 2017, related to the Dungeness crab fishery to the Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Fish and Game Commission. Existing law requires the Director of Fish and Wildlife to adopt a program for Dungeness crab trap limits for all California permits and establishes a procedure for initial implementation of the program after submission of the proposed program to, and review by, the Dungeness crab task force. Existing law requires the director to make specified allocations of crab trap tags under the program. Existing law establishes procedures for a Dungeness crab permitholder to submit, by March 31, 2014, an appeal to increase a trap tag allocation and to apply for waiver of appeal fees. Existing law also establishes appeal procedures to reduce, instead of increase, a trap tag allocation. Existing law requires participants in the program to pay a $5 crab trap tag fee and a $1,000 crab trap limit fee, as provided. Existing law creates the Dungeness Crab Account in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund, and requires the fees collected to be deposited in that account, to be used by the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for administering and enforcing the program. This bill would require the task force to make recommendations related to the Dungeness crab fishery by January 15, 2022, and by January 15 of every third year thereafter through 2028. The bill would delete the provisions establishing procedures for initial implementation of the program, for applying for waiver of appeal fees, and for submission of an appeal to reduce a trap tag allocation. The bill would require that, in each fiscal year through the 2029 fiscal year, after allocation of funding to the department from the Dungeness Crab Account, $150,000, if available, of the amount remaining in the account be allocated, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the Ocean Protection Council to support the administration and facilitation of the Dungeness crab task force. (3) Under existing law, the Dungeness crab task force is comprised of 27 members, including 10 nonelected voting and nonvoting members representing the Department of Fish and Wildlife, University of California Sea Grant, sport fishing interests, crab processing interests, commercial passenger fishing vessel interests, and nongovernmental organization interests, as specified, and 17 voting members elected in specified ports to represent commercial fishery interests in those ports at specified production levels. This bill would provide for the representatives of the department and University of California Sea Grant to be appointed by the department and University of California Sea Grant, respectively, and for the remaining nonelected members to be appointed by the Ocean Protection Council following a public solicitation for nominations. The bill would make one of the 2 members representing sport fishing interests a nonvoting member. The bill would revise the number of elected members representing commercial fishery interests in each port and would specify the number of elected members representing upper production levels or lower production levels, or both, in each port based on the total number of elected members representing the port. The bill would provide for elections to be held every 3 years in each port, on a staggered basis across ports, in coordination with the department or council and with support from an administrative team of the task force. The bill would provide for the appointment of alternates and would specify procedures in case a member's position becomes vacant. (4) Existing law prohibits a person from taking, possessing onboard, or landing Dungeness crab for commercial purposes from a vessel in specified waters, including, respectively, ocean waters in certain California fish and game districts, ocean waters south of the border between Oregon and California, ocean waters north of the border between Oregon and California, or ocean waters off Washington, Oregon, or California, for 30 days after the opening of the Dungeness crab fishing season in those waters if the opening of Dungeness crab season has been delayed in those waters and the same vessel was used to take, possess, or land Dungeness crab in specified waters outside of those respective waters. Existing law requires the Fish and Game Commission to revoke the Dungeness crab vessel permit of any person who violates these provisions. This bill would instead prohibit a person from taking, possessing onboard, or landing Dungeness crab for commercial purposes from a vessel in any ocean waters, regardless of the location of those waters, until 30 days after the opening of those waters for the commercial Dungeness crab fishing season, if the opening of those waters for the season has been delayed and the same vessel was used to take, possess, or land Dungeness crab for commercial purposes from ocean waters outside of the delayed waters. The bill would specify the circumstances in which a delay has occurred for the purposes of this provision. (5) Existing law authorizes the Director of Fish and Wildlife to order a delay in the opening of the Dungeness crab fishery after December 1 in Fish and Game Districts 6, 7, 8, and 9 in any year, through a date no later than January 15, pending the outcome of quality tests. Existing law prohibits these quality tests from being conducted after January 1. This bill would instead authorize quality tests to be conducted through January 15. (6) Existing law authorizes the Director of Fish and Wildlife to order the closure of any waters or otherwise restrict the taking under a fishing license in state waters of any species of fish if the Director of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, in consultation with the State Public Health Officer, determines that the species or subspecies of fish is likely to pose a human health risk from high levels of toxic substances. Existing law provides for the Director of Fish and Wildlife, upon receiving notification from the Director of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment that a human health risk no longer exists and a request to reopen those waters, to reopen those waters in a manner that promotes a fair and orderly fishery. Existing law authorizes crab traps to be set and baited 64 hours before the opening date of the commercial Dungeness crab season in Fish and Game Districts 6, 7, 8, and 9, and 18 hours before the opening date of commercial Dungeness crab season in other fish and game districts. Existing law requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife, in consultation with the Dungeness crab task force, to develop regulations as necessary to provide for the retrieval of lost or abandoned commercial crab traps, and to establish a retrieval permit program as part of those regulations. This bill would authorize the Director of Fish and Wildlife, if there is a delay in the opening of any waters for Dungeness crab season pursuant to these provisions, to further delay opening those waters in order to provide 72-hours notice before a gear setting period. The bill would provide that if, with 72-hours notice, the gear setting period would begin on a federal holiday, a state holiday, the day before Thanksgiving Day, December 24, or December 31, the director may delay opening those waters for the additional time that is necessary to begin the gear setting period on the next day that is not one of those days. The bill would clarify that it is unlawful to take any fish from any waters closed pursuant to these provisions or to otherwise violate any restriction on take imposed pursuant to these provisions. This bill would require all Dungeness crab traps to be removed from state waters by 11:59 p.m. on the last day of the applicable commercial Dungeness crab season. (7) Existing law requires the Director of Fish and Wildlife to convene a Dungeness crab review panel for the purpose of reviewing Dungeness crab vessel permit applications and permit transfer applications. This bill would repeal those provisions. (8) Existing law provides that the above-described provisions, and certain other related provisions, except for the provisions in paragraph (6) relating to fishery closure and initial gear setting, shall become inoperative on April 1, 2019, and, as of January 1, 2020, are repealed. This bill would extend the operation of these provisions, except for the provisions relating to a Dungeness crab review panel and retrieval of lost or abandoned commercial crab traps. The bill would make these provisions inoperative on April 1, 2029, and repeal them as of January 1, 2030. (9) Under existing law, except as expressly provided otherwise, any violation of the Fish and Game Code, or of any rule, regulation, or order made or adopted under the code, is a misdemeanor. Because this bill would extend the operation of the Dungeness crab vessel permit program and thereby the crimes imposed for a violation of those provisions, and impose additional requirements the violation of which may be crimes, the bill would create a state-mandated local program by creating new crimes. (10) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. (11) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.