BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 504
                                                                  Page  1


          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
          AB 504 (Chesbro)
          As Amended  January 6, 2014
          Majority vote 

           WATER, PARKS & WILDLIFE       15-0                   
          APPROPRIATIONS      16-0        
           
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          |Ayes:|Rendon, Bigelow, Allen,   |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, Allen,    |
          |     |Bocanegra, Dahle, Fong,   |     |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian  |
          |     |Frazier, Beth Gaines,     |     |Calderon, Campos, Eggman, |
          |     |Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez,   |     |Gomez, Holden, Linder,    |
          |     |Gray, Patterson,          |     |Pan, Quirk,               |
          |     |Rodriguez, Yamada         |     |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner,    |
          |     |                          |     |Weber                     |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :  Extends the sunset on provisions of existing law  
          relating to commercial fishing of sea cucumbers to January 1,  
          2017.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Prohibits the take or possession of sea cucumbers for  
            commercial purposes without a valid sea cucumber permit.   
            Requires possession of a sea cucumber diving permit to take  
            sea cucumbers by diving, and in order to take sea cucumbers by  
            methods other than diving, requires that at least one person  
            aboard the boat have a valid sea cucumber trawl permit.  The  
            fee for either a sea cucumber diving or trawling permit is  
            $338.75 per person.

          2)Places conditions on the transfer of sea cucumber permits and  
            limits the number of sea cucumber permits that may be issued  
            each year.

          3)Authorizes the Fish and Game Commission, upon recommendation  
            of the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW), to adopt  
            regulations governing seasons, gear restrictions, and other  
            measures it determines may be necessary to protect the sea  
            cucumber resource and assure a sustainable sea cucumber  
            fishery.








                                                                  AB 504
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          4)Provides that all of the above provisions shall become  
            inoperative on April 1, 2015, and are repealed as of January  
            1, 2016, unless a later enacted statute that is enacted before  
            January 1, 2016, deletes or extends the dates on which it  
            becomes inoperative and is repealed.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, minor costs to DFW of less than $30,000 (special  
          fund) per year for issuing and enforcing permits likely offset  
          by permit fee revenue.

           COMMENTS  :  Sea cucumbers are marine invertebrates that live on  
          the ocean floor and are part of a category of sea organisms  
          known as epibenthic detrivores - organisms that feed on and  
          break down dead plant or animal matter, returning essential  
          nutrients to the ecosystem.  Two species of sea cucumber are  
          commercial fished in California: the California sea cucumber,  
          Parastichopus californicus, also known as the giant red sea  
          cucumber; and the warty sea cucumber, Parastichopus parvimensis.  
           The warty sea cucumber is fished almost exclusively by divers,  
          while the California sea cucumber is caught primarily by  
          trawling.  According to the DFW, most of the California sea  
          cucumber and warty sea cucumber harvest in California is shipped  
          overseas to Asian markets, where sea cucumbers are claimed to  
          have a variety of beneficial medicinal or health enhancing  
          properties, including lowering blood pressure, aiding digestion,  
          and curing impotency.

          A specific permit is required to fish commercially for sea  
          cucumbers in California and the fishery is a limited entry  
          fishery.  The number of permitees and collective harvest peaked  
          in 2002, when the total commercial sea cucumber harvest was  
          944,700 pounds.  The take declined somewhat following 2002 as  
          diver effort switched to the sea urchin fishery, particularly  
          around the northern Channel Islands.  The number of permitees  
          and total harvest has remained relatively stable in recent  
          years.   In 2006 there were 92 sea cucumber dive permitees and  
          20 sea cucumber trawl permitees, who collectively harvested  
          476,108 pounds.  In 2012 there were 83 diving permitees and 6  
          trawl permitees, for a total collective harvest of 470,475  
          pounds.

          According to DFW, sea cucumbers are believed to be important  








                                                                  AB 504
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          agents of bioturbation (stirring or mixing of sediments or  
          soils), influencing the structure of soft-bottom benthic  
          communities (communities of organisms that live in and on the  
          ocean floor).  Presently very little is known about the  
          population size of sea cucumbers.  Sea cucumbers undergo  
          sporadic recruitment (juvenile survival), have a relatively high  
          natural mortality, and are slow growing.  Species with these  
          life history traits tend to be particularly vulnerable to  
          overfishing.  DFW indicates that it is unknown whether current  
          levels of fishing effort and harvest are sustainable, and  
          whether the populations are robust enough to support these  
          fisheries over the long term.  This lack of data may point to  
          the value of continued monitoring and management of sea cucumber  
          harvests, which this bill would allow by continuing in effect  
          the current laws governing commercial fishing of sea cucumbers.


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


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