BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 1287 (McGuire) - Commercial fishing: Dungeness crab
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|Version: March 28, 2016 |Policy Vote: N.R. & W. 8 - 1 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: April 25, 2016 |Consultant: Narisha Bonakdar |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: SB 1287 establishes the "Whale Protection and Crab Gear
Retrieval Act" which requires the Department of Fish and
Wildlife (department) to establish a crab trap retrieval
program, and includes additional provisions related to the
Dungeness crab fishery.
Fiscal
Impact:
Unknown, but potentially significant costs to develop,
implement, and enforce the crab trap retrieval program. These
costs may be offset by fees assessed on Dungeness crab vessel
operators whose traps are retrieved under the program. (See
staff comments)
Unknown, but likely minimal, costs to issue waivers from the
biennial fee for each trap tag for participants who are unable
to fish due to mandatory military service.
Background: The Dungeness crab task force (task force) was created by SB
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1690 (Wiggins, Chapter 727, Statutes of 2008) and "sunsetted" in
2011. The task force was re-established by SB 369 (Evans,
Chapter 335, Statutes of 2011) later that same year. SB 369
also established the tiered crab limit fishery. The task force
was created to review and evaluate fishery issues, including the
tiered crab limit fishery. It is also required to provide
recommendations to the Legislature, the department, and the Fish
and Game Commission. The task force and related Dungeness crab
fishing statutory provisions all sunset on April 1, 2019.
On January 15, 2016, the task force released a list of initial
recommendations. These include, among others:
Expressing concern about whale entanglements in Dungeness crab
gear.
Establishing a statewide industry-funded program to retrieve
lost fishing gear (with departmental involvement).
Allowing waivers from certain crab permit fees for
participants whose mandatory military service obligations will
not allow participation in the fishery for a season or
seasons.
Allowing vessels containing traps with valid Oregon and
Washington trap tags to transit the state's waters without
state-required permits, if certain conditions are met.
Revising state law that prohibits commercial Dungeness crab
trap permitholders from fishing in multiple management areas
for 30 days when one management area opens for fishing after
another due to start-delaying conditions ("fair start"
provisions).
Existing law regulating commercial fishing traps makes it
unlawful, except as specified, to willfully or recklessly
disturb, move, or damage any trap that belongs to another person
and that is marked with a buoy identification number. Existing
law authorizes the department, in consultation with the task
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force, to develop regulations as necessary to provide for
retrieval of lost or abandoned commercial crab traps.
Over the last two commercial Dungeness crab seasons, pilot
projects implementing voluntary lost fishing gear recovery
programs have operated statewide. The department, in
collaboration with the National Marine Fisheries Service and the
Ocean Protection Council, has held public and stakeholder
meetings to explore how to reduce entanglements. Task force
members have participated in these meetings. Short-term
strategies to address entanglement included, among other things,
training fishermen, establishing a statewide lost gear retrieval
program, improving data collection, enhancing reporting,
potential gear modifications, and the development of best
practices.
Proposed Law:
This bill establishes the "Whale Protection and Crab Gear
Retrieval Act" which, beyond the crab trap retrieval program,
includes additional provisions related to the Dungeness crab
fishery that are recommended by the task force.
Specifically, the bill:
Revises the department's existing requirement to develop
regulations for the retrieval of lost or abandoned commercial
Dungeness crab traps consistent with the following:
The establishment of a retrieval permit that allows
the permitholder to retrieve lost or abandoned commercial
Dungeness crab traps belonging to others during the
closed season of the fishery.
The trap retrieval permit program must be fully
funded by a fee levied on a Dungeness crab vessel
permitholder for each trap owned by the permitholder
retrieved through the trap retrieval program. The fee
must be set to cover the reasonable regulatory costs
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associated with the program and to provide reasonable per
trap compensation to a retrieval permitholder, as
specified.
The owner of the retrieved trap must pay the
retrieval trap fee prior to having the trap returned, and
the retrieved trap owner's Dungeness crab vessel permit
cannot be renewed until any fees due under the retrieval
permit program are paid.
The department must determine how retrieved traps
will be stored and owners of the retrieved traps will be
notified. In addition, the department has the authority
to adopt and implement any other necessary requirements
for the trap retrieval permit program.
The department must provide the proposed program to
the task force for review, and cannot implement the
program until the task force has had at least 60 days to
review and recommend changes, if any, to the program. If
the task force recommends it, the director may implement
the program earlier.
Revises the "fair start" provisions to apply to a person using
the same Dungeness crab vessel to take crab in specified
waters before moving to different areas where the opening has
been delayed, as specified.
Provides that the department must waive the biennial fee for
trap tags for participants who are unable to fish due to
mandatory military service if the participant requests the
waiver at the same time the biennial crab trap limit permit is
renewed, as specified. A waiver recipient may apply to fish
for crab during the 2nd year, but must pay the full biennial
cost of the tags. There is no limit on the number of times
this waiver may be sought.
Provides that a vessel may transit state waters carrying traps
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without California tags if the traps have Oregon or Washington
tags, no crab are onboard, and the traps are not deployed in
state waters.
Makes legislative findings related to the retrieval program.
All provisions in this bill sunset as of April 1, 2019, as
specified.
Related Legislation:
AB 2363 (Chesbro, Chapter 546, Statutes of 2012) revised some of
the Dungeness crab fishery requirements and added the
requirement that the department develop regulations for a lost
gear program.
Staff Comments: Staff notes that most of the costs associated
with the crab trap recovery program must be offset by the fee
assessed on crab vessel operators whose traps are retrieved
under the program.
SB 1287 requires the department to "establish a fee to be
charged to a Dungeness crab vessel permitholder for each trap
belonging to the permitholder that is retrieved through the
program. The department is required to set the fee at a level
sufficient to cover the reasonable regulatory costs associated
with the program and to provide reasonable compensation to a
retrieval permitholder on a per trap basis."
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