BILL ANALYSIS AB 849 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 849 (Berg) As Introduced February 18, 2005 Majority vote WATER, PARKS & WILDLIFE 13-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Wolk, Villines, Baca, | | | | |Berg, Berm?dez, Daucher, | | | | |Emmerson, Matthews, Maze, | | | | |Parra, Pavley, Sharon | | | | |Runner, Salda?a | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 FN: 0009907