BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    SB 1287


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          SENATE THIRD READING


          SB  
          1287 (McGuire)


          As Amended  August 18, 2016


          Majority vote


          SENATE VOTE:  39-0


           -------------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Committee       |Votes|Ayes                   |Noes                 |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
          |Water           |11-4 |Levine, Gallagher,     |Bigelow, Harper,     |
          |                |     |Dodd, Eggman, Cristina |Mathis, Olsen        |
          |                |     |Garcia, Eduardo        |                     |
          |                |     |Garcia, Gomez, Lopez,  |                     |
          |                |     |Nazarian, Salas,       |                     |
          |                |     |Williams               |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
          |Appropriations  |11-4 |Gonzalez, Bloom,       |Bigelow, Chang,      |
          |                |     |Bonilla, Bonta,        |Jones, Obernolte     |
          |                |     |Eggman, Eduardo        |                     |
          |                |     |Garcia, Quirk,         |                     |
          |                |     |Santiago, Weber, Wood, |                     |
          |                |     |McCarty                |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
           -------------------------------------------------------------------- 








                                                                    SB 1287


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          SUMMARY:  Requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) to  
          establish a crab trap retrieval program, and makes other changes  
          relative to Dungeness crab permits.  Specifically, this bill:  


          1)States legislative findings and declarations regarding the  
            Dungeness crab task force and the benefits of establishing a  
            trap retrieval program to reduce risk of whale entanglements.   
            States that the act enacted by this bill shall be known as the  
            Whale Protection and Crab Gear Retrieval Act.  States that the  
            crab gear retrieval program should be efficient and  
            cost-effective and utilize entities in addition to the DFW,  
            including nongovernmental organizations, to implement the  
            program.


          2)Requires the DFW to issue waivers to participants in the  
            Dungeness crab trap limit program from the biennial fee for  
            each trap tag if the participant is unable to fish due to  
            mandatory military service.  Authorizes a participant who  
            receives a waiver to apply to the DFW to fish for Dungeness  
            crab during the second year of the waiver if the participant  
            pays the full cost of the trap tags.


          3)Authorizes a vessel to transit state waters with Dungeness  
            crab traps that are not tagged with California trap tags if  
            the traps contain a valid Oregon or Washington state trap tag,  
            no crab species are on board, and the traps are not deployed  
            in state waters.


          4)Requires the DFW to establish a lost or abandoned crab gear  
            retrieval permit program.  Requires that the program include a  
            retrieval permit that authorizes the holder to retrieve lost  
            or abandoned Dungeness crab traps belonging to another person  
            during the closed season for the fishery, and to receive  








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            compensation for that retrieval on a per trap basis.  Provides  
            that the compensation shall be paid from revenue generated  
            from fees paid by the owners of the lost crab traps.


          5)Requires the DFW to charge a fee to Dungeness crab vessel  
            permit holders for each lost trap belonging to the permit  
            holder that is retrieved.  Requires the DFW to set the fee at  
            a level sufficient to cover the reasonable regulatory costs of  
            the program and to provide reasonable compensation to the  
            persons who retrieve the lost traps on a per trap basis.   
            Provides that reasonable regulatory costs include but are not  
            limited to administrative costs, storage costs, and costs  
            associated with disposing unusable traps or traps whose owners  
            cannot be identified.


          6)Prohibits a lost Dungeness crab trap that is retrieved from  
            being returned to the trap owner until the owner has paid the  
            fee.  Prohibits the DFW from renewing a Dungeness crab vessel  
            permit until any fees owed for retrieved crab traps is paid.


          7)Authorizes the DFW to use entities, including nongovernmental  
            organizations, to help implement the program.  


          8)Authorizes the DFW to adopt additional requirements necessary  
            to implement the crab trap retrieval program.  Requires the  
            DFW to submit the proposed crab trap retrieval program to the  
            Dungeness crab task force for review, and prohibits the  
            program from being implemented until the task force has had 60  
            days or more to review the proposed program and recommend any  
            proposed changes.  Authorizes the DFW to implement the program  
            earlier than 60 days after it is submitted to the task force  
            for review if recommended by the task force.


          9)Includes a sunset clause providing that the crab trap  








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            retrieval program shall become inoperative on April 1, 2019,  
            and as of January 1, 2020, is repealed, unless a later enacted  
            statute deletes or extends the sunset date.


          10)Exempts emergency fishery closures due to human health risk  
            from high levels of toxic substances from the Administrative  
            Procedures Act, and clarifies that once the DFW receives the  
            notification from the State Public Health Officer that the  
            fishery can be reopened the DFW shall do so in a manner that  
            promotes a fair and orderly fishery.


          11)Requires the DFW, following the closure of any waters for  
            health risk reasons, to notify the Fish and Game Commission  
            and request that the Fish and Commission schedule a public  
            discussion of the closure at its next scheduled full  
            Commission meeting. 


          12)Makes other technical and conforming changes, including  
            technical provisions to avoid chaptering out problems with SB  
            1473 (Committee on Natural Resources and Water).


          EXISTING LAW:


          1)Requires the DFW, in consultation with the Dungeness crab task  
            force, to develop regulations as necessary to provide for  
            retrieval of lost or abandoned crab traps.


          2)Requires the DFW to establish a tiered Dungeness crab trap  
            limit program, based on Dungeness crab landings.  Requires all  
            participants in the program to pay a biennial fee for each  
            trap tag issued to cover a pro rata share of the costs of the  
            program.  Requires trap tags to be fastened to each crab trap  
            and main buoy.  Requires all trap tags allocated to each  








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            permit to be purchased by the permit holder or the permit is  
            void.


          3)Establishes the Dungeness crab task force which is tasked with  
            reviewing Dungeness crab management measures and making  
            recommendations to the Legislature's Joint Committee on  
            Fisheries and Aquaculture, the Fish and Game Commission, and  
            the DFW. 


          4)Prohibits a person from taking or possessing Dungeness crab  
            for commercial purposes from a vessel in ocean waters off  
            California, Washington or Oregon for 30 days after the opening  
            of the Dungeness crab fishing season in that state, if the  
            opening of the season has been delayed in that state and the  
            same vessel was used to take crab prior to the opening of the  
            season in one of the other two states.


          5)By regulation prohibits a Dungeness crab permitted vessel from  
            possessing a Dungeness crab trap without a buoy tag assigned  
            to that vessel, with specified exceptions.  The exceptions  
            allow no more than six derelict Dungeness crab traps to be  
            retrieved per fishing trip.  In addition, an unlimited number  
            of traps may be retrieved from July 16 through October 31st,  
            subject to DFW waiver requirements.     


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee analysis:


          1)First-year DFW costs of approximately $185,000 (Fish and Game  
            Preservation Fund) to adopt regulations, and contract with a  
            non-governmental organization to operate the program.  


          2)Ongoing DFW annual costs of approximately $110,000 per year  








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            (Fish and Game Preservation Fund) for program tracking and  
            oversite.  


          Regulatory costs and costs of providing compensation for the  
          retrieval of crab traps are intended to be offset by the new  
          fee.


          COMMENTS:  This bill requires the DFW to establish a crab gear  
          retrieval program that authorizes retrieval of lost or abandoned  
          crab traps during the closed season, and allows persons who  
          retrieve the traps to be compensated for that retrieval on a per  
          trap basis.  This bill would also establish a fee to be paid by  
          the owner of the trap to cover the costs of the retrieval  
          program, and would prohibit the DFW from renewing a Dungeness  
          crab vessel permit until any fees owed by the permittee for  
          retrieved gear are paid.  This bill also would allow Dungeness  
          crab fishermen who are unable to fish due to mandatory military  
          service to obtain a waiver of required crab tag fees. 


          Every season, thousands of crab traps are lost off the  
          California coast.  Currently, there is no regulatory program  
          with adequate incentives to retrieve lost and abandoned  
          Dungeness crab fishing gear.  Lost and abandoned fishing gear  
          pose a navigational hazard to boats, and have proved to be  
          extremely dangerous to migratory whales that traverse up and  
          down the California coast and become entangled in lost crab trap  
          lines.  According to the National Marine Fisheries Service  
          (NMFW) the number of whales entangled in fishing gear along the  
          West Coast increased from an average of 10 per year between 2000  
          and 2012, to a record high in 2015 of 61 whales, including 57  
          off the coast of California alone.  Humpback whales were the  
          main species impacted.  In response, the program this bill would  
          establish is being advanced by the State's Dungeness crab task  
          force.










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          The Dungeness crab task force was established by the Legislature  
          in 2008 to provide recommendations on management of the crab  
          fishery.  The task force is composed of representatives of the  
          recreational and commercial crab fisheries, crab processors,  
          commercial passenger fishing vessels, and several nonvoting  
          members from nongovernmental organizations, and the DFW.  In  
          their most recent report, the task force recommended  
          establishment of a statewide industry-funded lost fishing gear  
          recovery program.


          According to the author, this bill is based on a pilot project  
          that has been recovering fishing gear on a limited basis in a  
          few select ports.  The program has gathered approximately 1,500  
          crab pots over the last two seasons.  This bill would expand the  
          voluntary pilot project to create a statewide industry-funded  
          crab gear retrieval program to remove lost and abandoned gear  
          from the oceans.  As recommended by the task force, only owners  
          of retrieved traps, identifiable by trap or buoy tags, are  
          responsible for fees.  As an economic incentive for compliance,  
          this bill would prohibit renewing a Dungeness crab vessel permit  
          until retrieval fees have been paid.  While the gear retrieval  
          program would be implemented through new fees, the fees are  
          supported by the crab fishing industry and the other  
          recreational and commercial fishing organizations which are  
          promoting this bill.


          In addition to the gear retrieval program, the task force's  
          January 2015 report recommended that tag fee waivers be allowed  
          for permit holders who are unable to fish due to mandatory  
          military service, and that the law be amended to allow vessels  
          with only Oregon or Washington tags to transit California  
          waters, provided no crab species are onboard and no traps are  
          deployed without a valid California buoy tag.  These recommended  
          changes are also included in this bill.


          This bill also allows the DFW to expedite fishery closures when  








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          necessary to protect public health, such as occurred with the  
          domoic acid health risk that resulted in closure of the  
          Dungeness crab fishery this past year.  This bill exempts such  
          emergency closures from the Administrative Procedures Act and  
          the requirement to adopt emergency regulations.  


          Supporters of this bill note that lost crab fishing gear  
          presents problems for navigation, can disrupt fishing activities  
          such as salmon trolling, and adds to marine debris.  Fishing  
          industry groups in support of this bill indicate that the  
          fishing industry desires to take steps to remedy these problems.  
           This bill addresses this problem by creating a permit system  
          that would allow fishermen to pick up gear left in the ocean  
          after the close of the fishing season.  Fishermen whose gear is  
          retrieved would be required to pay for the costs of recovery.   
          This bill put the onus for recovery on the fishing fleet to  
          ensure that this preventable source of marine debris is managed.  
           Other supporters note that whale entanglements have become an  
          increasing concern, and there is broad consensus that immediate  
          establishment of a statewide gear retrieval program is part of  
          the solution.




          There is no known opposition to this bill.


          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Diane Colborn / W., P., & W. / (916) 319-2096     
                                                                  FN:  
          0004359














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