BILL NUMBER: AB 2146 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Leno
FEBRUARY 18, 2004
An act to amend Sections 8276, 8280, and 9004 of, and to add
Sections 8276.1 and 8280.8 to the Fish and Game Code, relating to
Dungeness crab, and making an appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2146, as introduced, Leno. Dungeness crab.
(1) Existing law generally regulates the commercial Dungeness crab
fishery in order to protect the fishery by, among other things,
restricting the number and type of vessels that may take crab,
limiting the crab fishing season, and the type of gear used on
vessels used to take crab. Existing law permits the take for
commercial purposes in Districts 6, 7, 8, and 9 only between December
1 and July 15, and in all other districts only between November 15
and June 30.
This bill would revise those requirements regulating the
commercial Dungeness crab fishing season to permit the taking of
Dungeness crab for commercial purposes, beginning October 1, 2005,
and until October 1, 2007, in Districts other than 6, 7, 8, and 9,
only between December 1 and July 15.
This bill would require the Fish and Game Commission, on or before
October 7, 2007, to adopt a Dungeness crab fishery management plan
for the commercial Dungeness crab fishery, which would include
specified elements. The bill would require the commission to
establish a Dungeness Crab Advisory Committee to advise the
commission and the Department of Fish and Game on the establishment
and implementation of the plan, and to make recommendations for any
necessary changes that should be instituted to better regulate the
fishery. The bill would prescribe the membership of the committee.
The bill would prohibit a person operating a vessel for the
commercial take of Dungeness crab from utilizing more than 250 traps
during a season, except as provided.
The bill would require the department, upon request, to issue to
each person, on or before October 1 of each year, up to 250 tags to
be affixed to each crab trap, including specified information, except
as provided. The bill would authorize the department to adopt any
regulations as may reasonably be necessary to carry out those
provisions requiring that tags be affixed to each trap.
Existing law requires that every trap be raised, cleaned,
serviced, and emptied at intervals, not to exceed 96 hours, weather
conditions at sea permitting, and prohibits any trap from being
abandoned in the waters of the state.
This bill would exempt traps used for the taking of Dungeness crab
from those requirements, and would, instead, require that those
traps be removed from the ocean not more than 96 hours after the
close of crab season, weather conditions at sea permitting, and would
prohibit the abandonment of those traps in the waters of the state,
or in federal waters adjacent to the boundaries of the waters of the
state.
(2) Existing law continuously appropriates the money in the Fish
and Game Preservation Fund to the department and the commission to
carry out the Fish and Game Code. Because this bill would impose new
duties on the department and the commission, the bill would make an
appropriation.
(3) Existing law makes a violation of the provisions of the Fish
and Game Code a crime. By imposing new requirements on the
commercial Dungeness crab fishery, a violation of which would be a
crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 8276 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
8276. Except as provided in Section 8276.2:
(a) Dungeness crab may be taken for commercial purposes in
Districts 6, 7, 8, and 9 only between December 1 and July 15.
(b) Dungeness crab may be taken for commercial purposes in all
other districts only between November 15 and June 30 , except
that beginning October 1, 2005, and until October 1, 2007, Dungeness
crab shall only be taken between December 1 and July 15, in all other
districts .
(c) Dungeness crab may not be taken for commercial purposes in any
district, or part of a district, lying within the portions of
Crescent City Harbor between the south sand barrier and the
breakwater.
SEC. 2. Section 8276.1 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to
read:
8276.1. (a) On or before October 1, 2007, the commission shall
adopt a fishery management plan for the commercial Dungeness crab
fishery. The plan shall include, but not be limited to, all of the
following elements:
(1) Specifications for achieving the optimum yield for the
commercial Dungeness crab fishery.
(2) Information on the participants in the fishery, including
relevant economic information.
(3) Data requirements and research necessary for achieving the
optimum yield for the fishery.
(4) A summary of the regulations necessary to achieve optimum
yield that specify all of the following:
(A) Crab season opening and closing dates.
(B) Limits on the number of participants in the fishery.
(C) Limits on the amount of gear that may be used by the fishery.
(D) Requirements regarding preseason gear and monitoring of the
gear thereafter.
(E) Methods for the prevention of waste in the fishery, including
the enforcement of marketing agreements.
(b) The commission shall establish a Dungeness Crab Advisory
Committee to advise the commission and the department on the
establishment and implementation of the Dungeness crab fishery plan
required to be adopted pursuant to subdivision (a), and shall make
recommendations for any necessary changes that should be instituted
to better regulate the fishery. The advisory committee shall consist
of not less than five members who are permitted to fish for
Dungeness crab pursuant to Section 8280.1, and who represent the
geographic range of the Dungeness crab fishery in the state. The
director shall appoint members to the committee from a list of
individuals submitted to the department of organizations representing
Dungeness crab fishermen.
SEC. 3. Section 8280 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:
8280. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that the Dungeness
crab fishery is important to the state because it provides a valuable
food product, employment for those persons engaged in the fishery,
and economic benefits to the coastal communities of the state.
(b) The Legislature further finds that, in order to protect the
Dungeness crab fishery, it is necessary to limit the number of
vessels participating in that fishery to take Dungeness crab and it
may be necessary to limit the quantity and capacity of the fishing
gear used on each vessel to take Dungeness crab.
(c) The Legislature further finds and declares that to limit the
number of vessels in the Dungeness crab fishery, it is necessary to
require that the owner of each vessel participating in the fishery
obtain and possess a permit for that vessel and that the initial
issuance of permits shall be limited to those persons owning vessels
qualifying under Section 8280.1.
(d) The Legislature further finds and declares that, to ensure the
long-term sustainability of the Dungeness crab fishery, it is
necessary that limitations be placed on the number of traps used by
the fishery, particularly in Fish and Game District 10 and south of
that district. Those limitations on the number of traps are
necessary to ensure the safety of crabbing operations, ensure that
the resource is more equitably shared among participants, increase
the economic value of the resource, and make more fresh crab
available to consumers during most or all of the crab fishing season.
SEC. 4. Section 8280.8 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to
read:
8280.8. (a) No person operating a vessel pursuant to Section
8280.1 for the commercial take of Dungeness crab shall utilize more
than 250 traps during a season, except in Districts 6, 7, 8, and 9
where the limitation on the number of Dungeness crab traps shall not
apply.
(b) Upon request, the department shall issue to each person
operating a vessel pursuant to Section 8280.1, on or before October 1
of each year, up to 250 tags to be affixed to each trap, including
the season and number of the vessel operator. Persons fishing for
crab in Districts 6, 7, 8, and 9 shall not be required to apply or
affix tags to their traps.
(c) Except in Districts 6, 7, 8, and 9, no Dungeness crab trap may
be used unless it has a tag affixed to it.
(d) The department may adopt any regulations as may be reasonably
necessary to carry out this section.
SEC. 5. Section 9004 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:
9004. (a) Every trap , except those used for the
taking of Dungeness crab, shall be raised, cleaned, serviced,
and emptied at intervals, not to exceed 96 hours, weather conditions
at sea permitting, and no trap shall be abandoned in the waters of
this state.
(b) Traps used for the taking of Dungeness crab shall be removed
from the ocean not more than 96 hours after the close of the crab
season, weather conditions at sea permitting, and no Dungeness crab
trap shall be abandoned in the waters of this state, or in the
federal waters adjacent to the boundaries of the waters of the state.
SEC. 6. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.