BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 504
Author: Chesbro (D)
Amended: 8/22/14 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER COMMITTEE : 7-2, 6/24/14
AYES: Pavley, Evans, Hueso, Jackson, Lara, Monning, Wolk
NOES: Cannella, Fuller
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-2, 8/4/14
AYES: De León, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Gaines
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-1, 1/29/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Fish: sea cucumbers: transgenic fish
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill extends the statutory restrictions on
commercial sea cucumber fishing from 2015 until 2020 and
prohibits the hatchery production, stocking, incubation, or
cultivation of any transgenic salmonid in California.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/22/14 allow private entities to
apply for a transgenic salmonid research permit provided it is
not employed for commercial production.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/19/14 clarify which forms of
transgenic salmonid research are eligible to apply for a
CONTINUED
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research permit through replacing the ambiguous phrase
"biomedical public health" with "medical or scientific;" specify
that entities affected by this legislation need not disclose
proprietary information; and make technical changes.
ANALYSIS :
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 (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 ensure a sustainable sea cucumber
fishery.
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inoperative on April 1, 2015, and are repealed as of January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.
5.Defines "transgenic" as genetically altered by (a) introducing
DNA from another species or (b) manipulating DNA within the
organism to achieve gene addition, deletion, doubling, or
movement in the genome. This definition excludes individuals
containing multiple copies of the whole genome, including
triploids (three copies).
This bill:
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1.Extends the commercial sea cucumber program from 2015 to 2020.
2.Extends the prohibition of spawning, incubation, or
cultivation of transgenic salmonids in the Pacific Ocean to
all waters of the state. The hatchery production and stocking
of transgenic salmonids would be expressly prohibited.
3.Prohibits research or experimentation for the commercial
production of transgenic salmonids.
4.Authorizes the DFW to issue a specified permit for medical or
scientific research conducted on transgenic finfish species by
accredited California academic institutions or private
entities for research only and not for commercial production,
and requires the DFW to notify the Joint Committee on
Fisheries and Aquaculture and the Commission upon receipt of a
specified permit application at least 30 days prior to the
approval or disapproval of the permit.
5.Requires research activities be conducted in a closed system
that has eliminated the risk of escape of transgenic finfish
species and any potential disease they may transmit, requires
a permit application applied for to include a research plan
specifying the objectives and goals of the proposed research,
and specifies nothing in the bill shall be construed to
require the disclosure of proprietary information.
6.Codifies the regulatory definition of "transgenic."
Background
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
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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 the DFW, sea cucumbers are believed to be important
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. The 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 allows by continuing in effect the
existing laws governing commercial fishing of sea cucumbers.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Unknown and variable costs, likely less than $100,000 a year
on average, to the Fish and Game Preservation Fund (FGP Fund)
for the regulation and oversight of the commercial sea
cucumber fishery.
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Minor revenues of approximately $30,000 to the FGP Fund
(special) from sea cucumber permit revenues.
Minor loss of scientific permit fee revenue (less than $1,000)
to the FGP Fund (special).
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/22/14)
CalTrout
Golden Gate Salmon Association
Natural Resources Defense Council
Northcoast Environmental Center
Ocean Conservancy
Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman's Associations
Sierra Club California
Southern California Trawlers Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The Natural Resources Defense Council
and the Ocean Conservancy state that stocking California waters
with transgenic fish may increase competition with native stocks
for food and habitat, leading to significant negative impacts on
wild populations. The Northcoast Environmental Center notes
that Purdue University researchers have found that "releasing
transgenic fish to the wild could damage native populations even
to the point of extinction." In addition the Northcoast
Environmental Center references a University of Gothenburg study
reporting that transgenic fish are more resistant to toxics,
potentially leading to "increased ingestion of hazardous
substances by consumers."
The Southern California Trawlers Association (SCTA) supports
both the ban on hatchery production and stocking of transgenic
fish and the extension of the sea cucumber permitting system.
They believe that negative effects could come through
interbreeding (despite claims that fish can be made sterile),
competition for food, predation, and the introduction of
parasites and/or diseases. Concerning the sea cucumber
permitting program, the SCTA notes that sea cucumbers are "an
important part of the 'portfolio' of species needed to keep our
local fishing community healthy and intact, or at a minimum,
slow its decline due to 'the graying of the fleet.' regulations
and other pressures on commercial fishing in the 21st Century."
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ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-1, 1/29/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Lowenthal, Maienschein,
Medina, Melendez, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,
Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk,
Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner,
Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski,
Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NOES: Fox
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hall, Logue, Mansoor, Perea
RM:k 8/25/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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