BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 1114 (Allen) - Commercial fishing: swordfish
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|Version: May 11, 2016 |Policy Vote: N.R. & W. 7 - 2 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: May 16, 2016 |Consultant: Narisha Bonakdar |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: SB 1114 outlines timelines for phasing out drift gill
nets, and authorizes the California Department of Fish and
Wildlife (DFW) to issue deep-set buoy gear or similar gear to
take swordfish when that gear is authorized pursuant to federal
law. The bill also establishes a protocol and incentives for
the issuance of the new permits.
Fiscal
Impact:
Approximately $2.2 million (special fund) for the Ocean
Protection Council. (See staff comments).
Unknown, but significant costs, to the Department of Fish and
Wildlife. (See staff comments).
Background:
The Fish and Game Code, beginning at section 8561, contains the
existing provisions of law regarding the drift gill net shark
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and swordfish fishery. Those provisions establish criteria for
permits, transfers of permits, the information required for
permits, size of nets and other gear restrictions, restricted
areas for gill net fishing, as well as additional provisions.
In addition, the State of California has fishery policies to
protect endangered sea turtles and other marine life by
prohibiting commercial swordfish shallow-set longline fishing
within state waters and federal regulations currently prohibit
commercial longlining for swordfish within 200 miles of the
coast.
The California Ocean Protection Council has supported the
research and development of alternatives for catching swordfish,
most notably deep-set buoy gear. The gear works by dropping
weighted hooks as deep as 1,200 feet below the surface, where
swordfish tend to stay during the daytime. When an indicator
float drops below the surface, fishermen immediately pull in the
line.
According to the DFW, the DFW issued 71 drift gill net permits
and 42 harpoon permits in 2015. It considers 26 fishermen to be
active drift gill net fishers, and 5 harpoon fishers are also
considered to be active. In 2015, the fleet landed approximately
132 metric tons of swordfish, shark and other marketable
species, valued at just under $800,000. Of that, 72.5 metric
tons were swordfish, with a value of $630,000. In comparison,
the US imported nearly 11,000 metric tons of swordfish valued at
nearly $90 million in 2015.
There are provisions under federal law for what are called
federal exempted fishing permits (EFP). These allow activities
that may otherwise be prohibited and in the case of California
swordfish, these permits allow the use of modified drift gill
net gear in the Pacific Leatherback Turtle Conservation Area.
Proposed Law:
This bill:
1.Makes findings and declarations outlining the environmental
damage caused by drift gill nets.
2.Repeals, as of March 31, 2017, the existing section on
transferring drift gill net swordfish permits and replaces it
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with a new section that establishes conditions for transfers
that would become effective on the same date: The permittee
permanently retires the permit by transferring the permit to
an entity engaged in retiring permits, or the permittee
exchanges the permit for deep set buoy gear permit. (Note: The
entity engaged in retiring permits is likely a nonprofit.)
3.Sunsets the current fee for drift gill net permits ($330) and
increases it to $1500.
4.Prohibits DFW from issuing new drift gill net shark and
swordfish permits after March 31, 2017. Permits for which the
DFW has not been notified of any landings for two successive
fishing seasons would be revoked. Permits that have been
revoked or surrendered or exchanged would not be transferred
or re-issued. Additionally, the bill defines "latent drift
gear net permit" as one for which no swordfish or thresher
shark landings were reported in at least 3 years between 2010
and 2015.
5.Defines an actively fished drift gill net permit as one under
which swordfish or thresher shark landings were reported in at
least 3 years between 2010 and 2015. It also establishes
thresholds of risk and acceptable take and provides options to
the DFW to assess the risk to protected marine wildlife based
on available information.
6.Authorizes the DFW to adopt regulations for a deep-set buoy
gear fishery for swordfish consistent with the terms of the
bill and federal law.
7.Authorizes the DFW to issue deep-set buoy gear or similar gear
to take swordfish pursuant to federal law when that gear is
authorized pursuant to federal law.
8.Establishes a protocol and incentives for the issuance of the
new permits, as follows:
a) To an active drift gill net permit holder pursuant to
Article 16 of the Fish and Game Code.
b) To a person who has fished with deep set buoy gear under
a federal exempted fishing permit since January 1, 2010.
c) To a person who holds a valid swordfish permit pursuant
to Section 8394.
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d) Two additional deep-set buoy gear permits may be issued
to each actively fished drift gill who fished pursuant to a
federal exempted fishing permit if that federal permit is
surrendered within two years of a future federal
authorization to use deep-set buy gear or similar gear.
e) One additional deep-set buoy gear permit may be issued
to each actively fished drift gill net permit holder and
each person who fished under a federal exempted fishing
permit if the drift gill permit is surrendered within 4
years of the upcoming federal authorization to use deep set
buoy gear or similar gear.
f) One permit may be issued to a person who held a latent
drift gill permit prior to January 1, 2017.
g) No additional permits other than those mentioned in
(b)-(f), above, may be granted until 5 years after deep set
buoy hear or similar gear is authorized under federal law.
The DFW would be able to issue additional permits to
accommodate additional fishing effort and demonstrated
demand if no more than a negligible risk to protected
marine wildlife is shown.
1.Charges DFW creating measures and incentives to avoid and
minimize the incidence of derelict deep-set buoy gear left at
sea which may include provisions for registration and labeling
gear as well as incentives for the retrieval and retention of
gear.
2.Requires the DFW to establish a new fee at or below a rate
sufficient to cover the costs of the DFW and to transfer the
new permits.
3.Directs the Ocean Protection Council (OPC) to provide funding
for the innovation and adoption of sustainable commercial
fishing methods in the swordfish fishery which may include
assistance in purchasing deep-set buoy gear for persons with
an exempted fishing permit as of January 1, 2016, issued by
the National Marine Fisheries Service and for the first 10
persons who exchange their drift gill net permits for deep-set
buoy gear. The OPC is also directed to develop marketing and
propose business structures to support a high and stable price
for swordfish landed pursuant to these new provisions.
Staff
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Comments: Staff notes that the OPC would have to fund this bill
from remaining Proposition 84 funds. All Proposition 84 funds
have been appropriated to date. Non awarded funds have been
designated for various purposes by the OPC. Of those funds, up
to $3 million has been identified to support sustainable
fisheries.
OPC notes that, of those remaining funds, urgent and high
priority topics continue to significantly impact California
communities including advancing research behind harmful algal
blooms and the impacts to the marine ecosystem (such as domoic
acid and Dungeness crabs), ocean acidification impacts to
fisheries and coastal communities; and creating an electronic
database for our fisheries information in the state.
OPC costs include:
$306,000 pilot observer program (assuming cost estimates from
the Pfleger Institute of Environmental Research (PIER) EFP of
$612 per day, 5 day average trip, for approximately 100 trips
in each of two years.
$140,000 for gear for 10 additional fishermen. This bill sets
the expectation that the first 10 fishermen to transfer their
permits would receive funding to change to deep set buoy gear.
PIER cites a cost of $4,000 per set of 10 buoys and it could
up to $10,000 per boat in retrofits to allow for the new gear.
This funding estimate would provide equipment and retrofits
for 10 license holders. Beyond the first 10
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applicants, this program would have cost pressures for
upwards of 15 active license holders and 50 non-active
license holders.
$40,000 for training. PIER and CDFW have recommended new
entrants be trained similar to how EFP participants were
initially trained in the use of the gear.
$1.5 million for marketing. The bill calls for a marketing
program to sustain a high price for swordfish caught under
this program. The OPC does not have expertise in creating
nationwide marketing programs for sustainable fisheries and
would have to contract out this activity.
$200,000 for OPC to manage the grant program, training
program, and marketing contract.
DFW's costs include:
Outreach regarding new rules.
Implementation of new permitting structure. This will require
detailed analysis by the Department's Marine Region, License
and Revenue Branch and Law Enforcement Division, and
investigations similar to other limited entry permit changes.
Enforcement activities necessary to implement the new fishery
and enforce accordingly. This will likely include increased
workload due to increased permit appeals through the
administrative hearing process.
Rulemaking proceedings.
Staff notes that the bill increases the baseline drift gill net
renewal fee (from $460.50 to $1,500 annually) and authorizes
CDFW to establish fees for deep-set buoy gear permits to recover
costs. However, it is unclear whether this authority can be
practically applied. This bill removes the $1,500
transferability fee and requires CWFW to revoke latent permits
(approximately 2/3 of current permits). To fully recover costs
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from the remaining drift gill net and buoy gear permits, the
fees would have to be set at a level that could render the
fisheries economically unprofitable.
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