BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2363
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2363 (Chesbro)
As Amended April 30, 2012
Majority vote
WATER, PARKS & WILDLIFE 12-1 APPROPRIATIONS
17-0
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|Ayes:|Huffman, Halderman, Bill |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey, |
| |Berryhill, Blumenfield, | |Blumenfield, Bradford, |
| |Campos, Fong, Williams, | |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
| |Roger Hern�ndez, Hueso, | |Davis, Donnelly, Gatto, |
| |Jones, Lara, Yamada | |Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| | | |Mitchell, Nielsen, Norby, |
| | | |Solorio, Wagner |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Beth Gaines | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Modifies conditions under which limited entry
commercial fishery and Dungeness crab vessel permits can be
transferred, and modifies the Fish and Game Commission's authority
to approve bottom trawling in state waters. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Requires a limited entry fishery permit to be transferred, upon
application, to a parent, spouse, child, sibling, domestic
partner, or other natural person who is an heir of a permit
holder whose death occurred after January 1, 2010. Requires
that the application for the transfer be submitted on or before
July 1, 2013, or not more than one year after the death of the
permittee, whichever is later.
2)Authorizes the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) director to
authorize another person, when requested by the new permittee,
to serve in the place of the new permittee and to fish under the
limited entry permit for not more than one year from the date of
the permit transfer.
3)Narrows the conditions under which Dungeness crab vessel permits
may be temporarily transferred by requiring that the permit
holder who is seeking to transfer the permit must have had
Dungeness crab landings of not less than 5,000 pounds cumulative
over the past two years, and requiring that the vessel to which
AB 2363
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the permit is to be temporarily transferred be of equivalent
size and capacity, and no greater than 10 feet longer in length.
Requires as a condition of a permanent transfer of a Dungeness
crab vessel permit in the event of a loss or destruction or
serious damage rendering a vessel inoperable, that the
replacement vessel be of an equivalent size and capacity.
4)Authorizes any person with a commercial fishing license to
retrieve and bring to shore Dungeness crab traps that are lost
or abandoned, or are present in ocean waters in Districts 6, 7,
8, 9 or 10, more than 96 hours after the closure of the season
in that district and before 96 hours prior to the opening of the
next season. Provides that this authority shall not apply to
recreational crab traps. Requires DFG to establish regulations
as necessary to implement and enforce this provision, including
notification to owners of the traps, any retrieval fee, and sale
or auction of retrieved traps. Includes a sunset clause
providing that this provision shall become inoperative on April
1, 2019.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes transfer of limited entry commercial fishery permits
only upon the accidental death of the permit holder, and limits
those to whom the permits may be transferred to a parent,
spouse, child or sibling. Authorizes the DFG director to
authorize another person when requested by the new permittee to
engage in fishing under the limited entry permit for not more
than two years.
2)Authorizes, upon DFG approval, the owner of a permitted
Dungeness crab vessel to temporarily transfer the permit to
another replacement vessel for a period of six months during the
permit year, if the permitted vessel is lost, destroyed, or
seriously damaged or suffers a mechanical breakdown. An
additional six month extension may be granted. Authorizes the
permanent transfer of a Dungeness crab vessel permit within two
years after a permitted vessel is lost or destroyed or becomes
inoperable.
3)Makes it unlawful to willfully or recklessly disturb, move, or
damage any trap that belongs to another person.
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FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, minor costs in the tens of thousands of dollars to DFG
to develop and adopt regulations (special fund).
COMMENTS : The author has introduced this bill to: allow for
commercial fishery vessel permits to be transferred in the event
of the death of the permit holder, regardless of whether the death
is an accidental or natural death, and to allow the permit to be
transferred to a domestic partner or other heir of the permittee;
to tighten up existing requirements for emergency transfer of
Dungeness crab vessel permits to ensure that this emergency
authority is not misused to transfer permits to larger vessels
capable of landing greater amounts of crab than the vessel to
which the permit was issued; and, to allow for retrieval of
Dungeness crab traps after the end of the season by persons who do
not own the traps, under regulations to be adopted by DFG.
The restriction under current law on transfer of limited entry
permits only to an accidental death has created hardships for
families or beneficiaries of deceased permit holders when the
person dies of natural causes other than an accident. There does
not seem to be a logical reason for limiting such transfers to
accidental deaths. In addition, the current law allows transfers
to a spouse, parent, child or sibling, but not to a domestic
partner or other heir. This bill addresses those issues by
allowing for such transfers.
According to the author, the restriction on emergency transfers of
Dungeness crab vessel permits to vessels of comparable size is
proposed in response to alleged abuses which occurred last year
when permits from some tsunami-damaged vessels in Crescent City
with little or no recent crab landings were transferred to large
out-of-state crab boats allowing them to participate in the
California crab fishery. The provision on retrieval of lost or
abandoned crab traps would enable removal of traps after the
season closes to prevent marine debris and entanglement with other
fishing equipment.
Supporters assert this bill would relieve hardships on families of
deceased fishing men and women, protect against abuse in the
emergency transfer of Dungeness crab vessel permits, and
facilitate retrieval of lost or abandoned Dungeness crab fishing
gear.
AB 2363
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Analysis Prepared by : Diane Colborn / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096 FN: 0003693