AB 504, as amended, Chesbro. Fish: sea cucumbers: transgenic fish.
(1) Existing law requires the Fish and Game Commission to establish fish hatcheries for stocking the waters of California with fish and requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife to maintain and operate those hatcheries. Existing law also authorizes county boards of supervisors to establish and maintain fish hatcheries and authorizes the commission to issue permits to nonprofit organizations to construct and operate anadromous fish hatcheries.
Under existing law, the Trout and Steelhead Conservation and Management Planning Act of 1979, the department is required to give priority to stocking native hatchery-produced species in California waters where stocking is determined to be appropriate by the department.
This bill would prohibit hatchery production and stocking of transgenic fish in California waters and would define “transgenic” for these purposes. A violation of the Fish and Game Code is generally a misdemeanor. Because the bill would create new crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) Existing law governs the sea cucumber fishery in this state. Under existing law, sea cucumbers cannot be taken, possessed aboard a boat, or landed by a person for commercial purposes except under a valid sea cucumber permit issued by the department. The commission is authorized to adopt regulations that it determines may reasonably be necessary to protect the sea cucumber resource and assure a sustainable sea cucumber fishery or to enhance enforcement activities. A violation ofbegin delete existing lawend deletebegin insert these provisionsend insert
or regulations adopted pursuant to those provisions is a crime. Existing law provides that those provisions shall become inoperative on April 1, 2015, and, as of January 1, 2016, are repealed.
This bill would extend the operation of those provisions until April 1,begin delete 2017,end deletebegin insert 2020,end insert and would repeal those provisions on January 1,begin delete 2018.end deletebegin insert 2021.end insert Because this bill would extend the operation of the sea cucumber permit program and thereby the crimes imposed for a violation of those provisions, the bill would create a state-mandated local program.
(3) 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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 1729 of the Fish and Game Code is
2amended to read:
(a) (1) The department shall give priority to stocking
4native hatchery-produced species in California’s waters, where
5stocking is determined to be appropriate by the department.
6Stocking of hatchery-produced fish is not appropriate in all of
7California’s waters, including, but not limited to, stocking in
8California’s waters that would adversely affect species listed under
9the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531
10et seq.) or the California Endangered Species Act (Chapter 1.5
11(commencing with Section 2050) of Division 3).
12(2) Hatchery production and stocking of transgenic fish in
13California waters is prohibited.
P3 1(b) Hatchery-produced trout shall be stocked to support
2sustainable angling recreation and promote angler access to trout
3fishing, including, but not limited to, urban fisheries.
4(c) The department may provide outreach and educational
5materials to all anglers to promote awareness of environmental
6sustainability, ecosystem health, fish genetics, angling
7opportunities, and fish population management.
8(d) Educational programs utilizing the hatcheries shall be
9encouraged.
10(e) The department shall ensure that all trout stocked in waters
11of the state for recreational purposes are unable to reproduce
12through triploidy or other means, with the exception of fish planted
13into
brood stock lakes, surplus brood stock planted according to
14fishery management decisions, fish planted to supplement waters
15that the department has determined to be genetically isolated from
16native fish populations, and native trout species produced for
17recovery and restoration within their native range.
18(f) The department may develop, conduct, and respond to regular
19angler preference and satisfaction surveys. This is not a substitute
20for a preferred scientific data collection and monitoring program
21that would facilitate adaptive management of California’s inland
22trout fisheries.
23(g) The department shall review angling regulations periodically
24and adjust those regulations to ensure consistency with the strategic
25plan described in Section 1728.
26(h) As used in this section, “transgenic” has the same meaning
27as in Section 1.92 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations,
28as that section read on May 14, 2003.
Section 8405.4 of the Fish and Game Code is amended
30to read:
This article shall become inoperative on April 1,begin delete 2017,end delete
32begin insert 2020,end insert and as of January 1,begin delete 2018,end deletebegin insert 2021,end insert is repealed, unless a later
33enacted statute that is enacted before January 1,begin delete 2018,end deletebegin insert 2021,end insert deletes
34or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is
35
repealed.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
37Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
38the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
39district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
40infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
P4 1for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
2the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
3the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
4Constitution.
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