BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 849
                                                                  Page  1


          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
          AB 849 (Berg)
          As Introduced February 18, 2005
          Majority vote 

           WATER, PARKS & WILDLIFE                  13-0                     
                                                                          
           
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          |Ayes:|Wolk, Villines, Baca,     |     |                          |
          |     |Berg, Berm?dez, Daucher,  |     |                          |
          |     |Emmerson, Matthews, Maze, |     |                          |
          |     |Parra, Pavley, Sharon     |     |                          |
          |     |Runner, Salda?a           |     |                          |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
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           SUMMARY  :  Encourages collaborative research management between  
          fishing men and women and the state.  Specifically,  this bill  :  

          1)Establishes state policy to facilitate collaboration between  
            fishing men and women and scientists and researchers at the  
            Department of Fish and Game.

          2)Makes legislative findings as to the importance of utilizing  
            the knowledge of marine fishing men and women in researching  
            and managing ocean resources nationwide.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  None

           COMMENTS  :  A Pew Ocean Commission report and President Bush's  
          United States Ocean Action Plan stress the importance of  
          comprehensive, centralized research and data management programs  
          for ocean ecosystems.  This bill promotes comprehensive ocean  
          research by establishing state policy to collaborate on fishery  
          research with fishing men and women.

          As an example of effective collaborative research management,  
          the author offers the Gulf of Maine, where lobstermen and others  
          work side-by-side with agency managers and university  
          researchers gathering data and entering it into widely  
          accessible database systems.  The researchers have found the  
          fishermen's "native knowledge" to be critical to strengthening  
          fisheries management programs.  
          








                                                                 AB 849
                                                                  Page  2



          Analysis Prepared by  :    Alf W. Brandt / W., P. & W. / (916)  
          319-2096 


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