BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2063
Author: Huffman (D), et al
Amended: 8/17/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE : 5-2, 6/9/10
AYES: Pavley, Kehoe, Lowenthal, Padilla, Wolk
NOES: Cogdill, Huff
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hollingsworth, Simitian
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-4, 8/12/10
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Corbett, Leno, Price, Wolk, Yee
NOES: Ashburn, Emmerson, Walters, Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 4/22/10 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Fish: Chinook and Coho salmon
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill designates the Chinook salmon as the
official state anadoromous fish, and establishes goals for
salmon recovery.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law
1. Establishes the Golden Trout as California's official
CONTINUED
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state fresh water fish and the Garibaldi as the state
marine fish.
2. Establishes a state policy to significantly increase the
natural production of salmon by the end of the century,
and directs Department of Fish and Game (DFG) to develop
a plan and program to double the natural production of
salmon.
3. Under federal law, the Central Valley Project
Improvement Act establishes a goal of doubling natural
salmon production.
This bill:
1. Designates the Chinook salmon as the official state
anadromous fish.
2. States legislative findings and declarations regarding
Chinook salmon, and other salmonids including their
natural history, values, and importance to California's
natural ecosystems, culture and economy.
3. Proclaims a state goal of restoring Chinook salmon
populations to sustainable levels sufficient to support
viable recreational, commercial and tribal fisheries,
and to make substantial progress toward that goal,
within a decade, and states legislative intent that the
DFG and the Fish and Game Commission work together
collaboratively with other public and private partners,
including but not limited to, the Ocean Protection
Council, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS),
the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Pacific
Fisheries Management Council, fishing men and women,
fishing businesses, local fishing communities, and other
interested parties to restore thriving and sustainable
populations of Chinook salmon.
4. States legislative intent that DFG in implementing these
goals utilize the best available science in determining
where to focus and prioritize conservation planning
efforts for recovery of Chinook salmon and other
salmonid species. This includes, but is not limited to,
an integrated management approach to ensure the health
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of the ecosystem the salmonids depend upon a life cycle
analysis, conservation of salmonid genetic diversity to
promote population resilience, and sufficient data
collection efforts to support and adaptively manage
scientifically defensible hatchery operations.
Background
Chinook salmon are anadromous fish that are born in fresh
cold water streams, migrate to the ocean where they spend
most of their adult life, and then return to spawn in the
streams of their birth. Several distinct populations of
Chinook salmon have existed in California for hundreds and
in some cases thousands of years and in the past have
supported thriving commercial and recreational fisheries.
Chinook salmon have also played a major role in shaping
California's history, including serving as an important
food source and cultural icon for indigenous peoples and
for early European settlers. Chinook salmon were first
harvested commercially in California in the 1850s when they
provided an important food source for the gold rush. Today
all Chinook salmon runs in California are in decline, and
two of the four distinct runs in the Central Valley have
been listed under the state and federal endangered species
acts.
The Central Valley Chinook Fall run, which has been the
strongest of the Chinook runs in California, forms the
backbone of the recreational and commercial salmon fishing
industry in California and much of the Pacific Coast. As
much as 60 percent of the salmon caught off the coast of
Oregon, for example, come from the California Central
Valley Fall run. The Chinook's critical role in the food
web is also illustrated by the fact that it is a major food
source for Orca Whales, in addition to other species.
However, in recent years the Central Valley Fall run has
experienced a precipitous decline, dropping 95 percent from
a return of 738,000 in 2002, to only 39,500 in 2009, an all
time low. Fall 2009 also marked the third year in a row
that returns were below 122,000, the minimum escapement
deemed necessary by fisheries biologists for long-term
sustainable fishing. The dramatic decline in the number of
returning fish led to the unprecedented closure of the
salmon season in California for the last two years. As
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pointed out in the findings of this bill, the economic
impact of the closures in 2008 and 2009 has been
devastating to the fishing industry, with losses estimated
at over $2 billion and as many as 23,000 jobs lost.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12
2012-13 Fund
Restoring salmon Unknown costs,
mostly covered by Various
populations existing programs
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/17/10)
American Sportfishing Association
California Trout
Coastside Fishing Club
Crab Boat Owners Association, Inc.
Golden Gate Fishermen's Association
Johnson Hicks Marine Electronics
Monterey Fish Market
No. Calif./Nevada Council Fed. of Fly Fishers
Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Assoc.
RFJ Meswinkel Company
The Nature Conservancy
Trout Unlimited
Water 4 Fish
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/17/10)
Association of California Water Agencies
Department of Finance
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author's office argues that
"this bill seeks to promote public education of the unique
values and benefits of Chinook salmon to the state by
designating Chinook salmon as the official state anadromous
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fish. It also proclaims a state goal to restore Chinook
salmon to sustainable levels, sufficient to support viable
recreational, commercial and tribal fisheries" and states
legislative intent that the "best available science" be
used in planning efforts to promote salmon population
recovery.
The Crab Boat Owners Association argue succinctly that
"these last couple years of no salmon fishing has been
extremely hard on our members and their families."
Further, the California Association of Professional
Scientists state that "restoring California's salmon
population to sustainable levels is vital to the
ecosystem."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : While acknowledging restoration
of California's salmon runs is "an honorable goal", the
Association of California Water Agencies believes "the bill
should reflect the co-equal goals of providing a more
reliable water supply and restoring the Delta ecosystem
which the legislature followed in the passage of last
year's legislative water package.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block,
Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal,
Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello,
Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas,
Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra
Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran,
Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Blumenfield, Caballero, Huber, Huffman,
Norby, Vacancy
CTW:do 8/17/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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