BILL NUMBER: SB 209 CHAPTERED 09/20/01 CHAPTER 318 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 20, 2001 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 19, 2001 PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 4, 2001 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 30, 2001 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 23, 2001 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 16, 2001 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 30, 2001 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 20, 2001 AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 17, 2001 INTRODUCED BY Senator Sher (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Lowenthal) FEBRUARY 9, 2001 An act to amend Sections 8420, 8423, and 8429 of, and to repeal and add Sections 8425, 8428, and 8429.7 of, the Fish and Game Code, relating to commercial fishing, and making an appropriation therefor. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 209, Sher. Commercial fishing: market squid. (1) Existing law required the Director of Fish and Game, on or before April 1, 2001, to submit a report to the Legislature on the status of the market squid fishery with recommendations for a market squid conservation and management plan. This bill would require the Fish and Game Commission, after considering that report, and after public hearings, to adopt a market squid fishery management plan on or before December 31, 2002. By imposing these duties on the commission, the bill would make an appropriation. (2) Under existing law, until April 1, 2003, the fee for a commercial market squid vessel permit and the fee for a commercial squid light boat owner's permit is $400. This bill would require the commission to establish fees for commercial market squid vessel permits and commercial squid light boat owner's permits annually commencing April 1, 2003. (3) The bill also would prohibit each person who is issued a commercial squid light boat owner's permit from selling, trading, or transferring the permit to another person. Because existing law would make a violation of this provision a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (4) Existing law specifies that the above provisions will become inoperative on April 1, 2003, and repealed as of January 1, 2004. This bill would provide that specified provisions will become inoperative upon the adoption by the commission of a market squid fishery management plan and the adoption of implementing regulations and will be repealed 6 months thereafter. (5) 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. Appropriation: yes. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 8420 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read: 8420. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that the fishery for market squid (Loligo opalescens) is the state's largest fishery by volume, generating millions of dollars of income to the state annually from domestic and foreign sales. In addition to supporting an important commercial fishery, the market squid resource is important to the recreational fishery and is forage for other fish taken for commercial and recreational purposes, as well as for marine mammals, birds, and other marine life. The growing international market for squid and declining squid production from other parts of the world has resulted in an increased demand for California market squid, which, in turn, has led to newer, larger, and more efficient vessels entering the fishery and increased processing capacity. (b) The Legislature finds that the lack of research on market squid and the lack of annual at-sea surveys to determine the status of the resource, combined with the increased demand for, and fishing effort on, market squid could result in overfishing of the resource, damaging the resource, and financially harming those persons engaged in the taking, landing, processing, and sale of market squid. (c) The Legislature further finds that some individuals, vessels, and processing plants engaged in the market squid fishery have no other viable alternative fisheries available to them and that a decline or a loss of the market squid resource would cause economic devastation to the individuals or corporations engaged in the market squid fishery. (d) The Legislature declares that to prevent excessive fishing effort in the market squid fishery and to develop a plan for the sustainable harvest of market squid, it is necessary to adopt and implement a fishery management plan for the California market squid fishery that sustains both the squid population and the marine life that depends on squid. (e) The Legislature finds that a sustainable California market squid fishery can best be ensured through ongoing oversight and management of the fishery by the commission. With regard to the market squid fishery, the Legislature urges that any limited entry component of a fishery management plan, if necessary, should be adopted for the primary purpose of protecting the resource and not simply for the purpose of diminishing or advancing the economic interests of any particular individual or group. SEC. 2. Section 8423 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read: 8423. (a) No person shall operate a squid light boat unless the owner of the boat has been issued a commercial squid light boat owner' s permit by the department and a permit number is affixed to the boat in the manner prescribed by the department. (b) The department shall issue a commercial squid light boat owner' s permit to a person who submits an application, pays the permit fee, and meets the other requirements of this section. (c) The department may regulate the use of squid light boats consistent with the regulations established for commercial squid vessels. (d) For the 2002-03 permit year, the fee for a commercial squid light boat owner's permit is four hundred dollars ($400). (e) It is unlawful for a person to engage in the following activities, unless the vessel used for the activity has been issued a commercial market squid vessel permit or the person holds a commercial squid light boat owner's permit: (1) Attracting squid by light displayed from a vessel, except from a vessel deploying nets for the take, possession, and landing of squid or except from the seine skiff of the vessel deploying nets for the take, possession, and landing of squid. (2) Attracting squid by light displayed from a vessel whose primary purpose is other than the deployment, or assistance in the deployment, of nets for the take, possession, and landing of squid. (f) A commercial squid light boat owner's permit shall be issued to a person who is the owner of record of a vessel that is registered with the department pursuant to Section 7881. For purposes of this subdivision, an owner includes any person who has a lease-purchase agreement for the purchase of a vessel. (g) No person who is issued a commercial squid light boat owner's permit shall sell, trade, or transfer the permit to another person. SEC. 3. Section 8425 of the Fish and Game Code is repealed. SEC. 4. Section 8425 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read: 8425. (a) On or before December 31, 2002, the commission, after consideration of the report and recommendations prepared by the department pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 8426, and, after public hearings, shall adopt a market squid fishery management plan and regulations to protect the squid resource and manage the squid fishery at a level that sustains healthy squid populations, taking into account the level of fishing effort and ecological factors, including, but not limited to, the species' role in the marine ecosystem and oceanic conditions. The management plan shall be consistent with the requirements of Part 1.7 (commencing with Section 7050). Development of the plan shall be coordinated with the federal Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan. (b) On and after January 1, 2002, the commission shall manage the squid fishery in accordance with the requirements of Part 1.7 (commencing with Section 7050). SEC. 5. Section 8428 of the Fish and Game Code is repealed. SEC. 6. Section 8428 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read: 8428. Commencing April 1, 2003, and annually thereafter, the fees for a commercial market squid vessel permit and for a commercial squid light boat owner's permit shall be established by the commission. The total amount of fees collected pursuant to this section, including any revenue derived from any other appropriate source, as determined and allocated by the commission, shall not exceed the department's and the commission's costs for managing the market squid fishery pursuant to Section 8425. The fees collected pursuant to this article shall be used only for the management of the market squid fishery pursuant to Section 8425. SEC. 7. Section 8429 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read: 8429. Any statement made to the department, orally or in writing, relating to a permit issued under this article, shall be made under penalty of perjury. The commission shall revoke the commercial fishing license, the commercial boat registration of any vessel, and, if applicable, any licenses issued pursuant to Section 8032, 8033, or 8034 that are held by any person submitting material false statements, as determined by the commission, for the purpose of obtaining a commercial market squid vessel permit or a commercial light boat owner's permit. SEC. 8. Section 8429.7 of the Fish and Game Code is repealed. SEC. 9. Section 8429.7 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read: 8429.7. Sections 8420.5 to 8423.5, inclusive, and Sections 8426 and 8427 shall become inoperative upon the adoption by the commission of a market squid fishery management plan and the adoption of implementing regulations pursuant to Section 8425, and are repealed six months thereafter. SEC. 10. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.