BILL NUMBER: AB 749	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Leno
   (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Berg)

                        FEBRUARY 17, 2005

   An act to amend Sections 8280 and 12002 of, and to add Sections
8276.1 and 8280.8 to, the Fish and Game Code, relating to Dungeness
crab.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 749, as introduced, Leno.   Fish and game: 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 to take crab.
   This bill would permit the Fish and Game Commission to adopt
regulations as may reasonably be necessary to ensure the protection
of the Dungeness crab resources and to provide for an orderly
Dungeness crab fishery. The bill would authorize 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 in designated districts. The bill would
require the commission, on or after March 15, 2008, to consider
recommendations from the department and Dungeness crab vessel
permitholders on whether to increase or decrease that trap limit,
terminate the operation of the 250-trap limit after June 30, 2008, or
to make any other modification to the operation of that trap limit.
The bill would require the commission, after consultation with the
department and Dungeness crab vessel permitholders, to adjust the
permit fee for persons taking crab in and south of District 10, or to
establish a landing fee or vessel stamp, as the commission
determines necessary, to cover the reasonable costs of administering
and enforcing the Dungeness crab trap limitation. The bill would make
a violation of the above provisions governing the limitation on the
number of traps or the appropriate use of a vessel permit punishable
by a fine of not more than $5,000, imprisonment in the county jail
for not more than 6 months, or both. The bill would provide that a
2nd violation would result in a permanent revocation of the Dungeness
crab permit and a revocation of a commercial fishing license for a
period of not less than 5 years.
   (2) Existing law makes a violation of the provisions of the Fish
and Game Code a crime.
   Because this bill would impose new requirements on the commercial
Dungeness crab fishery, a violation of which would be a crime, and
because the bill would also create a new crime, the bill would impose
a state-mandated local program.

  (3) 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: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 8276.1 is added to the  Fish and Game Code , to
read:
   8276.1.  (a) The commission may adopt regulations as may
reasonably be necessary to ensure the protection of the Dungeness
crab resource and to provide for an orderly crab fishery. (b) The
commission may establish a Dungeness Crab Advisory Committee to
advise the commission and the department on the establishment and
implementation of the Dungeness crab fishery regulations authorized
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 by organizations representing Dungeness crab
fishermen.
  SEC. 2.  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. The
Legislature further finds and declares that the average number of
traps that an individual is generally able to bait, set, and empty in
a normal fishing day is approximately 250. Therefore, it is the
intent of the Legislature that a trap limit of 250 should be made
applicable until another limit on the number of traps is established
by the commission.  
  SEC. 3.  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) No owner of a vessel permitted pursuant to Section 8280.1
shall utilize that permit for the take of Dungeness crab on board a
vessel owned by another person that is also permitted pursuant to
Section 8280.1 for the take of Dungeness crab.
   (c) On or after March 15, 2008, the commission shall consider
recommendations from the department and Dungeness crab vessel
permitholders, based on the experience of operating with a 250-trap
limit, on whether to take any of the following actions:
   (1) Increase or decrease the trap limit.
   (2) Terminate the operation of the 250 trap limit after June 30,
2008.
   (3) Make any other modifications of the operation of the 250 trap
limit.
   (d) The commission shall, after consultation with the department
and Dungeness crab vessel permitholders, either adjust the crab
vessel permit fee for persons taking crab in and south of District
10, or establish a landing fee or vessel stamp, as the commission
determines necessary, to cover all reasonable costs incurred by the
department in administering and enforcing the provisions of this
section. In adjusting or establishing fees or vessel stamps pursuant
to this subdivision, the commission shall take into account the
permit fees currently paid by crab vessel owners pursuant to Section
8280.1.
  SEC. 4.  Section 12002 of the  Fish and Game Code  is amended to
read:
   12002.  (a) Unless otherwise provided, the punishment for a
violation of this code that is a misdemeanor is a fine of not more
than one thousand dollars ($1,000), imprisonment in the county jail
for not more than six months, or both the fine and imprisonment.(b)
The punishment for a violation of any of the following provisions is
a fine of not more than two thousand dollars ($2,000), imprisonment
in the county jail for not more than one year, or both the fine and
imprisonment:
   (1) Section 1059.
   (2) Subdivision (d) of Section 4004.
   (3) Section 4600.
   (4) Paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 5650.
   (5) A first violation of Section 8670.
   (6) Section 10500.
   (7) Section 3005.9.
   (8) A violation of commission regulations that is discovered
pursuant to Section 3005.91 or 3005.92.
   (9) Unless a greater punishment is otherwise provided, a violation
subject to subdivision (a) of Section 12003.1.
   (c) Except as specified in Sections 12001 and 12010, the
punishment for  a  violation of Section 3503, 3503.5, 3513,
 3800,  or   3800   8280.8  is a
fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), imprisonment in
the county jail for not more than six months, or both that fine and
that imprisonment.  A second violation of Section 8280.8 shall
result in the permanent revocation of a Dungeness crab permit issued
pursuant to Section 8280.1 and a revocation of a commercial fishing
license for a period of not less than five years. 
   (d) (1) A license or permit issued pursuant to this code to a
defendant who fails to appear at a court hearing for a violation of
this code, or who fails to pay a fine imposed pursuant to this code,
shall be immediately suspended.  The license or permit shall not be
reinstated or renewed, and no other license or permit shall be issued
to that person pursuant to this code, until the court proceeding is
completed or the fine is paid.
   (2) This subdivision does not apply to any violation of Section
1052, 1059, 1170, 3005.9, 3005.91, 3005.92, 5650, 5653.9, 6454, 6650,
or 6653.5.
  SEC. 5.
  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.