BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2504
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 24, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS AND WILDLIFE
Jared Huffman, Chair
AB 2504 (Gaines) - As Introduced: February 24, 2012
SUBJECT : Lake Tahoe: Commercial fishing of crayfish
SUMMARY : Repeals the prohibition of selling or purchasing
signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) from Lake Tahoe or
the Lake Tahoe Basin. Specifically, this bill :
1)Repeals the statutory prohibition on commercial fishing of
crayfish from Lake Tahoe or the Lake Tahoe Basin.
EXISTING LAW
1)Since 1970, prohibits the sale or purchase of crayfish from
Lake Tahoe or the Lake Tahoe Basin.
2)Subjects the taking of crayfish to regulations prescribed by
the Fish and Game Commission. Current regulations for the
commercial take of crayfish include (but are not limited to):
a requirement for licenses and permits; a possible requirement
for complete daily records of fishing operations;
determination of size allowable for collection and allowable
methods of take; and declaration that crayfish may not be
taken for commercial purposes from any lake or reservoir
within many California Counties, included Placer and El Dorado
Counties.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
The signal crayfish is native to freshwaters within the Pacific
Northwest coast. The Truckee watershed was first seeded with
crayfish in the early 1900s. Some of the crustaceans were
planted by anglers to provide food for the brown, rainbow,
brook, and lake trout deposited in Lake Tahoe in the late 1800's
and some were most likely planted as a food source for locals.
In the 1960's researchers from the University California at
Davis estimated there were 56 million crayfish in Lake Tahoe. In
2001, another group of scientists estimated the crayfish
population to have increased to 220 million and consist of over
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8 million pounds of crayfish.
For years, crayfish were a dietary staple for nonnative trout
and kokanee salmon in Tahoe, but in the 1960's a species of
shrimp, Mysis relicta, was released into the lake. With the
opportunity for easier prey, the fish began feeding on those
instead. The dramatic increase in crayfish population since the
1960's has been attributed to the decrease in predation due to
the shift in the lake trout's diet to the shrimp. Climate
warming may also be driving crayfish production. Today, crayfish
are a major food resource for invasive warm water fish species
such as small and largemouth bass and bluegill species that are
restricted to the nearshore environment. The bass prefer
crayfish over almost any other food, and as plentiful as the
crayfish are, the crayfish have given the bass the calories they
need to establish themselves.
Crayfish are widely distributed around the periphery of Lake
Tahoe with maximum density found at depths of 10 - 20 meters.
They comprise the bulk of the bottom dwelling organisms in the
littoral zone (0-60 meters in depth). Crayfish that dominate
freshwater ecosystems can regulate the flow of energy and
nutrients throughout the system, often having positive and
negative impacts on algal production and bottom dwelling
invertebrate production and diversity. Crayfish have been found
to excrete nitrogen and phosphorus, which are important
stimulators of algae production. Thus, crayfish are believed to
be a contributor to the degradation of water clarity in the
Lake.
The aquatic invasive species program of the Tahoe Regional
Planning Agency (TRPA) classifies signal crayfish as an
"established invasive species with no operational control
options", referring to the fact there are currently no legal or
permitted control and eradication methods approved for this
species. Allowance of commercial fishing of signal crayfish
within the Tahoe Basin, if done appropriately, would create a
legal control and/or eradication program using private industry
to address the issue without using public money.
Noted scientists have concluded that "the contribution of the
crayfish to the productivity of the lake as a whole is
large?They occupy in their own right a place of significance in
production of the total organic substance present in or produced
by the whole lake?Given the potential in controlling native fish
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recruitment and endemic invertebrate biodiversity, stimulation
of invasive nongame fishes, it is time that we take a look at
the role crayfish may play in impeding our progress towards
managing the lake's nearshore clarity and the potential for
crayfish management?It is not out of the question that a
commercial harvest of crayfish is possible."
Supporting Arguments: The author states that "there will be many
benefits to allowing for commercial fishing of crayfish in the
Lake Tahoe region. First, reducing the number of invasive
crayfish will help the purity of the lake. Secondly, businesses
can benefit by the sale of the crayfish, having a positive
impact on the local economy while supporting local products."
Supporters also state that "a commercial crayfish harvest may
allow the control of this species by engaging the private sector
to accomplish what otherwise would not be possible given the
status of limited public funding for aquatic invasive
species?Support for this bill is offered provided that harvest
is managed in a manner that will ultimately reduce the
population of crayfish in Lake Tahoe and thereby reduce the
impact of this invasive species."
Why is a commercial crayfish fishery in Lake Tahoe banned?
In the late 1960's a researcher from Sweden came to the United
States to conduct ecological research on the crayfish in Lake
Tahoe. During his research, he also worked with a professor at
UC Davis on a project aimed to protect the future of Lake Tahoe.
On behalf of the Swedish Fisheries Board and with full consent
and knowledge of the California Department of Fish and Game
(DFG), the Swedish researcher also collected 1,000 pounds of
crayfish (~100,000 from a population estimated at 55.6 million
adults) for research as well as to export back to Sweden to
re-establish the crayfish population that had crashed due to a
fungus. The Lake Tahoe crayfish were immune to the fungus.
Rumors abounded that this large extraction of crayfish was for
commercial purposes. Letters went back and forth between
Assemblymember Cappie, DFG, the professor at UC Davis, the
Swedish researcher, and the institution in Sweden with
assurances from those involved that no crayfish were taken or
sold for commercial purposes and the only purpose was to conduct
ecological and biological research and to re-establish the
population in Sweden.
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However, out of these rumors, came the existing law. The
sentiment at the time was that there were not enough crayfish in
Lake Tahoe, and the reproductive capacity of the crayfish was
too slow, to support both sport and commercial fisheries. Since
sport fishing of crayfish was popular, commercial fishing was
banned in statute in Lake Tahoe and the Lake Tahoe Basin.
Other issues for the committee to consider:
New regulations were adopted by the Nevada Wildlife Commission
on December 3, 2011 allowing for commercial harvest of crayfish
in Nevada.
In addition to the statute repealed by this bill, the Fish and
Game Commission (FGC) has regulations that prohibit the
commercial fishing of crayfish in lakes and reservoirs in, among
other places, Placer and El Dorado counties. In order to fully
allow commercial fishing of crayfish in the Lake Tahoe basin,
the issue will need to be taken up with and decided upon by the
FGC. And, because changing the regulations will be a
discretionary action by the FGC, a California Environmental
Quality Act analysis may need to be conducted.
Because of the known detrimental effects of the signal crayfish
on other fish species and the Lake Tahoe ecosystem, scientists
have indicated that the primary purpose for the allowance of
commercial fishing of signal crayfish in Lake Tahoe should be as
an invasive species control measure with ancillary benefits to
the commercial sector and not for the long term establishment of
a commercial fishery. However, due to the complex interactions
of species within the Lake Tahoe ecosystem, removal of crayfish
through commercial harvest may have both positive and negative
impacts on other species that are not fully understood. For
these reasons, some fishery scientists have urged that if a
commercial fishery is established, it needs to be carefully
planned and monitored.
A noted crayfish scientist has raised several issues regarding
the establishment of a commercial harvesting program in the Lake
Tahoe Basin including:
1) Commercial license holders must act responsibly, not
have bycatch of native fishes, act in concert to provide
accurate and critical information to determine if
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harvesting is having a negative impact, and not spread
crayfish to other ecosystems.
2) There is a need for a commercial harvest program to
avoid the critical lake bottom in the 5 - 90 meter depth
section of the lake that includes, but is not limited to,
Camp Richardson and McKinney Bay due to the native, endemic
invertebrate populations in these areas.
3) No harvest should be allowed from the shore line to 5
meters of depth to avoid influencing the production of
other invertebrates.
4) Agencies and scientists should work together to
determine optimal harvest areas.
5) Tracking of commercial harvest and analyzing of
information should be done on a regular basis.
6) The commercial harvest program should be coupled with
scientific study to understand the effects of commercial
harvesting of crayfish recognizing that harvest practices
may have both positive and negative effects on the
ecosystem in different years, under different environmental
conditions.
Suggested Committee Amendments:
Due to the unique national, historical, and economic
significance of Lake Tahoe, the Committee may want to consider
the following amendment:
8491.XX It is the intent of the Legislature that any allowance
for commercial harvest of crayfish in Lake Tahoe or the Lake
Tahoe Basin be for the primary purpose of population reduction
and control of the signal crayfish, an invasive species, and
that commercial fishing of crayfish be allowed only to the
extent that it is consistent, and not in conflict with, State
goals for management of invasive species and environmental
standards.
8491.XX The Fish and Game Commission shall develop regulations
regarding crayfish taken for commercial purposes in Lake Tahoe
and the Lake Tahoe Basin, to ensure that, to the extent
feasible, any regulations are consistent with, and not contrary
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to, the Lake Tahoe Region Aquatic Invasive Species Management
Plan.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman's Association
Tahoe Regional Planning Agency
Individuals: 1
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Mandy Arens / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096