SB 1017: Commercial fishing: drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery: permit transition program.
- Session Year: 2017-2018
- House: Senate
- Latest Version Date: 2018-09-27
(1)Existing law prohibits a person from using or operating, or assisting in using or operating, a boat, aircraft, net, trap, line, or other appliance to take fish for commercial purposes unless the person holds a commercial fishing license issued by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Existing law prohibits the taking of shark and swordfish for commercial purposes with drift gill nets except under a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit (DGN permit) issued to that person that has not been suspended or revoked and is issued to at least one person aboard the boat, except as provided. Existing law authorizes the Director of Fish and Wildlife to close the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery if, after a public hearing, the director determines the action is necessary to protect the swordfish or thresher shark and mako shark resources and requires the director to reopen the fishery if he or she determines that the conditions that necessitated the closure no longer exist. Existing law authorizes a DGN permit to be transferred to another person under certain circumstances. Under existing law, a violation of these provisions is a crime.
The California Ocean Protection Act creates the California Ocean Protection Trust Fund in the State Treasury and authorizes moneys deposited in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be expended by the Ocean Protection Council for, among other things, grants or loans to public agencies, nonprofit corporations, or private entities for, or direct expenditures on, projects or activities that protect, conserve, and restore coastal waters and ocean ecosystems including through the acquisition from willing sellers of vessels, equipment, licenses, harvest rights, permits, and other rights and property, to reduce threats to ocean ecosystems and resources.
This bill would require the department by March 31, 2020, to establish a voluntary permit transition program that includes specified conditions, including a condition that a permittee who voluntarily surrenders his or her DGN permit and shark or swordfish gill net or nets receive, to the extent that funds for the transition program are available, a specified payment, as prescribed. The bill would require the department to enter into an agreement with a fiscal agent, as defined, for the fiscal agent to receive state and nonstate funds for purposes of the transition program and, upon receipt of adequate funds, to make the payment to a participating permittee. If the department enters into an agreement with a fiscal agent that is a state entity, the bill would continuously appropriate any funds received from nonstate sources to that state entity for purposes of the transition program. The bill would require the Ocean Protection Council to use $1 million of an appropriation made to it in the Budget Act of 2018 for whale and sea turtle entanglement to fund the transition program. The bill would require the department to notify the Legislature within 10 days of the date that the fiscal agent receives $1 million from nonstate sources and secures $1 million through an agreement with the Ocean Protection Council. The bill would require a DGN permit issued pursuant to these provisions to be surrendered or revoked as of January 31 of the 4th year following the departments notification to the Legislature. Because a violation of this provision would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would, beginning March 31, 2019, prohibit the transfer of a DGN permit.
The bill would provide that the provisions dealing with the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery do not create or recognize a property right in fish expected to be caught using a DGN permit.
(2)Existing law establishes a swordfish permit that authorizes a person holding that permit to take, possess aboard a boat, and land swordfish for commercial purposes using specified methods but not including use of a drift gill net. Existing law establishes a fee of $330 for a swordfish permit, as adjusted pursuant to the above-described index, but exempts the holder of a DGN permit from payment of that fee.
This bill would also exempt any person who participates in the permit transition program established by the department from payment of the fee for a swordfish permit.
(3)Existing law makes it unlawful to use fishing lines, including, but not limited to, troll lines and handlines more than 900 feet in length unless they are used as set lines, as specified.
This bill would also exempt from this prohibition fishing lines more than 900 feet in length if they are used as part of deep-set buoy gear authorized under federal law.
(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.
(1)Existing law prohibits a person from using or operating, or assisting in using or operating, a boat, aircraft, net, trap, line, or other appliance to take fish for commercial purposes unless the person holds a commercial fishing license issued by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Existing law prohibits the taking of shark and swordfish for commercial purposes with drift gill nets except under a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit (DGN permit) issued to that person that has not been suspended or revoked and is issued to at least one person aboard the boat, except as provided. Existing law authorizes the Director of Fish and Wildlife to close the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery if, after a public hearing, the director determines the action is necessary to protect the swordfish or thresher shark and mako shark resources and requires the director to reopen the fishery if he or she determines that the conditions that necessitated the closure no longer exist. Existing law authorizes a DGN permit to be transferred to another person under certain circumstances. Under existing law, a violation of these provisions is a crime.
The California Ocean Protection Act creates the California Ocean Protection Trust Fund in the State Treasury and authorizes moneys deposited in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be expended by the Ocean Protection Council for, among other things, grants or loans to public agencies, nonprofit corporations, or private entities for, or direct expenditures on, projects or activities that protect, conserve, and restore coastal waters and ocean ecosystems including through the acquisition from willing sellers of vessels, equipment, licenses, harvest rights, permits, and other rights and property, to reduce threats to ocean ecosystems and resources.
This bill would require the department by March 31, 2020, to establish a voluntary permit transition program that includes specified conditions, including a condition that a permittee who voluntarily surrenders his or her DGN permit and shark or swordfish gill net or nets receive, to the extent that funds for the transition program are available, a specified payment, as prescribed. The bill would require the department to enter into an agreement with a fiscal agent, as defined, for the fiscal agent to receive state and nonstate funds for purposes of the transition program and, upon receipt of adequate funds, to make the payment to a participating permittee. If the department enters into an agreement with a fiscal agent that is a state entity, the bill would continuously appropriate any funds received from nonstate sources to that state entity for purposes of the transition program. The bill would require the Ocean Protection Council to use $1 million of an appropriation made to it in the Budget Act of 2018 for whale and sea turtle entanglement to fund the transition program. The bill would require the department to notify the Legislature within 10 days of the date that the fiscal agent receives $1 million from nonstate sources and secures $1 million through an agreement with the Ocean Protection Council. The bill would require a DGN permit issued pursuant to these provisions to be surrendered or revoked as of January 31 of the 4th year following the departments notification to the Legislature. Because a violation of this provision would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would, beginning March 31, 2019, prohibit the transfer of a DGN permit.
The bill would provide that the provisions dealing with the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery do not create or recognize a property right in fish expected to be caught using a DGN permit.
(2)Existing law establishes a swordfish permit that authorizes a person holding that permit to take, possess aboard a boat, and land swordfish for commercial purposes using specified methods but not including use of a drift gill net. Existing law establishes a fee of $330 for a swordfish permit, as adjusted pursuant to the above-described index, but exempts the holder of a DGN permit from payment of that fee.
This bill would also exempt any person who participates in the permit transition program established by the department from payment of the fee for a swordfish permit.
(3)Existing law makes it unlawful to use fishing lines, including, but not limited to, troll lines and handlines more than 900 feet in length unless they are used as set lines, as specified.
This bill would also exempt from this prohibition fishing lines more than 900 feet in length if they are used as part of deep-set buoy gear authorized under federal law.
(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.
(1)Existing law prohibits a person from using or operating, or assisting in using or operating, a boat, aircraft, net, trap, line, or other appliance to take fish for commercial purposes unless the person holds a commercial fishing license issued by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Existing law prohibits the taking of shark and swordfish for commercial purposes with drift gill nets except under a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit (DGN permit) issued to that person that has not been suspended or revoked and is issued to at least one person aboard the boat, except as provided. Existing law authorizes the Director of Fish and Wildlife to close the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery if, after a public hearing, the director determines the action is necessary to protect the swordfish or thresher shark and mako shark resources and requires the director to reopen the fishery if he or she determines that the conditions that necessitated the closure no longer exist. Existing law authorizes a DGN permit to be transferred to another person under certain circumstances. Under existing law, a violation of these provisions is a crime.
The California Ocean Protection Act creates the California Ocean Protection Trust Fund in the State Treasury and authorizes moneys deposited in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be expended by the Ocean Protection Council for, among other things, grants or loans to public agencies, nonprofit corporations, or private entities for, or direct expenditures on, projects or activities that protect, conserve, and restore coastal waters and ocean ecosystems including through the acquisition from willing sellers of vessels, equipment, licenses, harvest rights, permits, and other rights and property, to reduce threats to ocean ecosystems and resources.
This bill would require the department, between January 1, 2019, and department by March 31, 2020, to develop establish a voluntary permit transition program, as prescribed, and to implement the program upon appropriation by the Legislature of state funds and the private or federal funds received by the department for this purpose. program that includes specified conditions, including a condition that a permittee who voluntarily surrenders his or her DGN permit and shark or swordfish gill net or nets receive, to the extent that funds for the transition program are available, a specified payment, as prescribed. The bill would require the department to enter into an agreement with a fiscal agent, as defined, for the fiscal agent to receive state and nonstate funds for purposes of the transition program and, upon receipt of adequate funds, to make the payment to a participating permittee. If the department enters into an agreement with a fiscal agent that is a state entity, the bill would continuously appropriate any funds received from nonstate sources to that state entity for purposes of the transition program. The bill would require the Ocean Protection Council to use $1 million of an appropriation made to it in the Budget Act of 2018 for whale and sea turtle entanglement to fund the transition program. The bill would require the department to notify the Legislature within 10 days of the date that the fiscal agent receives $1 million from nonstate sources and secures $1 million through an agreement with the Ocean Protection Council. The bill would require a DGN permit issued pursuant to these provisions to be surrendered or revoked as of January 31, 2023. 31 of the 4th year following the departments notification to the Legislature. Because a violation of this provision would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would, beginning March 31, 2019, prohibit the transfer of a DGN permit.
The bill would provide that the provisions dealing with the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery do not create or recognize a property right in fish expected to be caught using a DGN permit.
(2)Existing law establishes a swordfish permit that authorizes a person holding that permit to take, possess aboard a boat, and land swordfish for commercial purposes using specified methods but not including use of a drift gill net. Existing law establishes a fee of $330 for a swordfish permit, as adjusted pursuant to the above-described index, but exempts the holder of a DGN permit from payment of that fee.
This bill would also exempt any person who participates in the permit transition program established by the department from payment of the fee for a swordfish permit.
(3)Existing law makes it unlawful to use fishing lines, including, but not limited to, troll lines and handlines more than 900 feet in length unless they are used as set lines, as specified.
This bill would also exempt from this prohibition fishing lines more than 900 feet in length if they are used as part of deep-set buoy gear authorized under federal law.
(3)(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.
(1)Existing law prohibits a person from using or operating, or assisting in using or operating, a boat, aircraft, net, trap, line, or other appliance to take fish for commercial purposes unless the person holds a commercial fishing license issued by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Existing law prohibits the taking of shark and swordfish for commercial purposes with drift gill nets except under a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit (DGN permit) issued to that person that has not been suspended or revoked and is issued to at least one person aboard the boat, except as provided. Existing law authorizes the Director of Fish and Wildlife to close the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery if, after a public hearing, the director determines the action is necessary to protect the swordfish or thresher shark and mako shark resources and requires the director to reopen the fishery if he or she determines that the conditions that necessitated the closure no longer exist. Existing law authorizes a DGN permit to be transferred to another person under certain circumstances. Under existing law, a violation of these provisions is a crime.
This bill would require the department, between January 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020, to develop a voluntary permit transition program, as prescribed, and to implement the program upon appropriation by the Legislature of state funds and the private or federal funding funds received by the department for this purpose. The bill would require a DGN permit issued pursuant to these provisions to be surrendered or revoked as of January 31, 2023. Because a violation of this provision would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would provide that the provisions dealing with the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery do not create or recognize a property right in fish expected to be caught using a DGN permit.
(2)Existing law establishes a swordfish permit that authorizes a person holding that permit to take, possess aboard a boat, and land swordfish for commercial purposes using specified methods but not including use of a drift gill net. Existing law establishes a fee of $330 for a swordfish permit, as adjusted pursuant to the above-described index, but exempts the holder of a DGN permit from payment of that fee.
This bill would also exempt any person who participates in the permit transition program established by the department from payment of the fee for a swordfish permit.
(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.
(1)Existing law prohibits a person from using or operating, or assisting in using or operating, a boat, aircraft, net, trap, line, or other appliance to take fish for commercial purposes unless the person holds a commercial fishing license issued by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Existing law prohibits the taking of shark and swordfish for commercial purposes with drift gill nets except under a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit (DGN permit) issued to that person that has not been suspended or revoked and is issued to at least one person aboard the boat, except as provided. Existing law authorizes the Director of Fish and Wildlife to close the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery if, after a public hearing, the director determines the action is necessary to protect the swordfish or thresher shark and mako shark resources and requires the director to reopen the fishery if he or she determines that the conditions that necessitated the closure no longer exist. Existing law authorizes a DGN permit to be transferred to another person under certain circumstances. Existing law establishes an annual fee of $330 for a DGN permit and requires that fee to be adjusted annually pursuant to a specified index. Under existing law, a violation of these provisions is a crime.
This bill would require the department, between January 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020, to develop a voluntary permit transition program, as prescribed, and to implement the program upon appropriation by the Legislature of private or federal funding received by the department for this purpose. The bill would increase the fee for a DGN permit that expires on March 31, 2019, to $482.75. The bill would require a DGN permit issued pursuant to these provisions to be surrendered or revoked as of January 31, 2023. Because a violation of this provision would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would provide that the provisions dealing with the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery do not create or recognize a property right in fish expected to be caught using a DGN permit.
(2)Existing law establishes a swordfish permit that authorizes a person holding that permit to take, possess aboard a boat, and land swordfish for commercial purposes using specified methods but not including use of a drift gill net. Existing law establishes a fee of $330 for a swordfish permit, as adjusted pursuant to the above-described index, but exempts the holder of a DGN permit from payment of that fee.
This bill would also exempt any person who participates in the permit transition program established by the department from payment of the fee for a swordfish permit.
(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.
(1)Existing law prohibits a person from using or operating, or assisting in using or operating, a boat, aircraft, net, trap, line, or other appliance to take fish for commercial purposes unless the person holds a commercial fishing license issued by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Existing law prohibits the taking of shark and swordfish for commercial purposes with drift gill nets except under a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit (DGN permit) issued to that person that has not been suspended or revoked and is issued to at least one person aboard the boat, except as provided. Existing law authorizes the Director of Fish and Wildlife to close the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery if, after a public hearing, the director determines the action is necessary to protect the swordfish or thresher shark and mako shark resources and requires the director to reopen the fishery if he or she determines that the conditions that necessitated the closure no longer exist. Existing law authorizes a DGN permit to be transferred to another person under certain circumstances. Existing law establishes an annual fee of $330 for a DGN permit and requires that fee to be adjusted annually pursuant to a specified index. Under existing law, a violation of these provisions is a crime.
This bill would require the department, between January 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020, to develop a voluntary permit buyback transition program, as prescribed, and to implement the program upon appropriation by the Legislature of private or federal funding received by the department for this purpose. The bill would increase the annual fee for a DGN permit to $1,500 for the license year beginning on April 1, 2019, and to $3,000 for any license year beginning on or after April 1, 2020, as adjusted pursuant to the specified index. The bill would, beginning March 31, 2019, only authorize the transfer of a DGN permit to an entity engaged in retiring permits. that expires on March 31, 2019, to $482.75. The bill would require a DGN permit issued pursuant to these provisions to be surrendered or revoked as of January 31, 2023. Because a violation of this provision would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
This bill would require the department, from April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2025, inclusive, to require any permittee, as a condition of receiving a DGN permit, to have an observer, as defined, on board his or her vessel on each trip in which the permittee uses a drift gill net. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2020, to adopt hard caps to be effective from April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2025, inclusive, for bycatch consistent with a specified alternative adopted by the Pacific Fishery Management Council in September 2015. If the department determines that a hard cap is reached for any species in any given 2-year period, the bill would require the department to immediately close the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery for the remainder of the period. The bill would require the department to continue the use of observers and hard caps on and after April 1, 2025, if the department makes a specified determination. Because a violation of these provisions would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The bill would provide that the provisions dealing with the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery do not create or recognize a property right in fish expected to be caught using a DGN permit.
(2)Existing law establishes a swordfish permit that authorizes a person holding that permit to take, possess aboard a boat, and land swordfish for commercial purposes using specified methods but not including use of a drift gill net. Existing law establishes a fee of $330 for a swordfish permit, as adjusted pursuant to the above-described index, but exempts the holder of a DGN permit from payment of that fee.
This bill would also exempt any person who participates in the permit buyback transition program established by the department from payment of the fee for a swordfish permit.
(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.
(1)Existing law prohibits a person from using or operating, or assisting in using or operating, a boat, aircraft, net, trap, line, or other appliance to take fish for commercial purposes unless the person holds a commercial fishing license issued by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Existing law prohibits the taking of shark and swordfish for commercial purposes with drift gill nets except under a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit (DGN permit) issued to that person that has not been suspended or revoked and is issued to at least one person aboard the boat, except as provided. Existing law authorizes the Director of Fish and Wildlife to close the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery if, after a public hearing, the director determines the action is necessary to protect the swordfish or thresher shark and mako shark resources and requires the director to reopen the fishery if he or she determines that the conditions that necessitated the closure no longer exist. Existing law authorizes a DGN permit to be transferred to another person under certain circumstances. Existing law establishes an annual fee of $330 for a DGN permit and requires that fee to be adjusted annually pursuant to a specified index. Under existing law, a violation of these provisions is a crime.
This bill would require the department, between January 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020, to develop a voluntary permit buyback program, as prescribed, and to implement the program upon appropriation by the Legislature of private or federal funding received by the department for this purpose. The bill would increase the annual fee for a DGN permit to $1,500 for the license year beginning on April 1, 2019, and to $3,000 for any license year beginning on or after April 1, 2020, as adjusted pursuant to the specified index. The bill would, beginning March 31, 2019, only authorize the transfer of a DGN permit to an entity engaged in retiring permits.
This bill would require the department, from April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2025, inclusive, to require any permittee, as a condition of receiving a DGN permit, to have an observer observer, as defined, on board his or her vessel on each trip in which the permittee uses a drift gill net. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2020, to adopt hard caps to be effective from April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2025, inclusive, for bycatch consistent with a specified alternative adopted by the Pacific Fishery Management Council in September 2015. If the department determines that a hardcap hard cap is reached for any species in any given 2-year period, the bill would require the department to immediately close the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery for the remainder of the period. The bill would require the department to continue the use of observers and hard caps on and after April 1, 2025, if the department makes a specified determination. Because a violation of these provisions would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2)Existing law establishes a swordfish permit that authorizes a person holding that permit to take, possess aboard a boat, and land swordfish for commercial purposes using specified methods but not including use of a drift gill net. Existing law establishes a fee of $330 for a swordfish permit, as adjusted pursuant to the above-described index, but exempts the holder of a drift gill net shark and swordfish DGN permit from payment of that fee.
This bill would also exempt any person who participates in the permit buyback program established by the department from payment of the fee for a swordfish permit.
(3)Existing law establishes the Fish and Game Code and sets forth definitions that govern the construction of the code and all regulations adopted under the code.
This bill would define observer for these purposes.
(4)
(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.
(1)Existing law prohibits a person from using or operating, or assisting in using or operating, a boat, aircraft, net, trap, line, or other appliance to take fish for commercial purposes unless the person holds a commercial fishing license issued by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Existing law prohibits the taking of shark and swordfish for commercial purposes with drift gill nets except under a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit (DGN permit) issued to that person that has not been suspended or revoked and is issued to at least one person aboard the boat, except as provided. Existing law authorizes the Director of Fish and Wildlife to close the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery if, after a public hearing, the director determines the action is necessary to protect the swordfish or thresher shark and mako shark resources and requires the director to reopen the fishery if he or she determines that the conditions that necessitated the closure no longer exist. Existing law authorizes a DGN permit to be transferred to another person under certain circumstances. Existing law establishes an annual fee of $330 for a DGN permit and requires that fee to be adjusted annually pursuant to a specified index. Under existing law, a violation of these provisions is a crime.
This bill would require the department, between January 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020, to develop a voluntary permit buyback program, as prescribed, and to implement the program upon appropriation by the Legislature of private or federal funding received by the department for this purpose. The bill would increase the annual fee for a DGN permit to $1,500 for the license year beginning on April 1, 2019, and to $3,000 for any license year beginning on or after April 1, 2020, as adjusted pursuant to the specified index. The bill would, beginning March 31, 2019, only authorize the transfer of a DGN permit to an entity engaged in retiring permits.
This bill would require the department, from April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2025, inclusive, to require any permittee, as a condition of receiving a DGN permit, to have an observer on board his or her vessel on each trip in which the permittee uses a drift gill net. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2020, to adopt hard caps to be effective from April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2025, inclusive, for bycatch consistent with a specified alternative adopted by the Pacific Fishery Management Council in September 2015. If the department determines that a hardcap is reached for any species in any given 2-year period, the bill would require the department to immediately close the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery for the remainder of the period. The bill would require the department to continue the use of observers and hard caps on and after April 1, 2025, if the department makes a specified determination. Because a violation of these provisions would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2)Existing law establishes a swordfish permit that authorizes a person holding that permit to take, possess aboard a boat, and land swordfish for commercial purposes using specified methods but not including use of a drift gill net. Existing law establishes a fee of $330 for a swordfish permit, as adjusted pursuant the above-described index, but exempts the holder of a drift gill net shark and swordfish permit from payment of that fee.
This bill would also exempt any person who participates in the permit buyback program established by the department from payment of the fee for a swordfish permit.
(3)Existing law establishes the Fish and Game Code and sets forth definitions that govern the construction of the code and all regulations adopted under the code.
This bill would define observer for these purposes.
(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.
Existing law, enacted as part of the Marine Life Management Act of 1998, generally establishes a comprehensive plan for the management of marine life resources. Existing law requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife to develop, and submit to the Fish and Game Commission for its approval, a fishery management master plan, and provides for the preparation and approval of fishery management plans, which form the primary basis for managing Californias sport and commercial marine fisheries.This bill would define observer for these purposes.Existing law, enacted as part of the Marine Life Management Act of 1998, generally establishes a comprehensive plan for the management of marine life resources. Existing law requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife to develop, and submit to the Fish and Game Commission for its approval, a fishery management master plan, and provides for the preparation and approval of fishery management plans, which form the primary basis for managing Californias sport and commercial marine fisheries.
This bill would define observer for these purposes.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)It is in the best interest of the people of the state, the commercial fishing industry, and Californias marine resources that fishermen use the most sustainable fishing gear available to harvest seafood off the California coast.
(b)Large-scale pelagic drift gill nets targeting swordfish and sharks have been banned on the high seas and in ocean waters of many countries worldwide and are banned or are no longer permitted by all other states because of the unavoidable impacts to marine wildlife, including whales, dolphins, sharks, pinnipeds, and sea turtles, including the California state marine reptile, the Pacific leatherback sea turtle. Many California species killed by the drift gill net fishery are protected under state and federal law or covered under international agreements, such as the sperm whale, the leatherback sea turtle, the loggerhead sea turtle, the bigeye thresher shark, and the scalloped hammerhead shark.
(c)Impacts to Californias marine and coastal resources have been a persistent concern with the use of drift gill nets. According to data collected pursuant to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations observer program, Californias drift gill net fishery discards on average over one-half of all fish caught, kills over 70 different marine species as bycatch, and has among the highest rates of marine mammal and sea turtle interactions across all West Coast fisheries.
(d)California should set the standard for sustainable swordfish fishing globally and follow the lead of the other states in implementing sustainable alternatives. Californias standards for sustainability and low environmental impacts in commercial fishing are critical for addressing impacts in foreign fisheries, since these standards frame the scope of international efforts to push for stronger international standards, both diplomatically and as a matter of federal law. Continuing the use of destructive fishing gears in California enables the use of similar gears in fisheries that export seafood into the United States and limits federal efforts to restrict, limit, and reduce impacts from those imports.
(e)The Pacific Fishery Management Council is in the process of authorizing a new innovative technology for fishing swordfish known as deep set buoy gear. This gear has been deployed commercially on the East Coast where it has proven to be among the most selective and sustainable gears used to catch swordfish, and results of commercial trials off California demonstrate the gear can effectively catch swordfish with minimal bycatch and bycatch mortality. This gear could be used to improve the fishing practices of Californias swordfish fishery.
(f)Given the economic and environmental benefits to the people of the state, it is the intent of the Legislature to direct new entrants into the swordfish fishery toward the use of lower impact fishing gears for a modernized fishery, while allowing current participants in the drift gill net fishery to continue those practices for a limited duration of time.
SEC. 2.Section 8394.5 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8394.5.The fee for the permit issued pursuant to Section 8394 is three hundred thirty dollars ($330). This permit fee does not apply to the holder of a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit required under Article 16 (commencing with Section 8561) or to any person who participates in the permit transition program established by the department pursuant to Section 8583.
SEC. 3.Section 8561 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8561.(a)Notwithstanding Section 8394, shark and swordfish shall not be taken for commercial purposes with drift gill nets except under a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit issued to that person that has not been suspended or revoked and is issued to at least one person aboard the boat.
(b)A drift gill net shark and swordfish permit shall not be required for the taking of sharks with drift gill nets with a mesh size smaller than eight inches in stretched mesh and twine size no. 18 or the equivalent of this twine size or smaller.
(c)Notwithstanding Section 8102 or any other law, a permit issued pursuant to this section shall be surrendered or revoked as of January 31 of the fourth year following the departments notification to the Legislature pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 8583.
SEC. 4.Section 8561.5 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8561.5.(a)Notwithstanding Section 8102, a permit issued pursuant to Section 8561 may be transferred by the permittee only if one of the following conditions is met:
(1)The permittee has held the permit for three or more years.
(2)The permittee is permanently injured or suffers a serious illness that will result in a hardship, as determined in a written finding by the director, to the permittee or his or her family if the permit may not otherwise be transferred or upon dissolution of a marriage where the permit is held to be community property.
(3)The permittee has died and his or her surviving spouse, heirs, or estate seeks to transfer the permit within six months of the death of the permittee or, with the written approval of the director, within the length of time that it may reasonably take to effect the transfer.
(b)A permit may be transferred only to a person who holds a valid general gill net permit issued to that person pursuant to Section 8681 that has not been suspended or revoked.
(c)The transfer of a permit shall only become effective upon notice from the department. An application for transfer shall be submitted to the department with such reasonable proof as the department may require to establish the qualification of the person the permit is to be transferred to, the payment to the department of a transfer fee of one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500), and a written disclosure, filed under penalty of perjury, of the terms of the transfer.
(d)Any restrictions on participation that were required in a permit transferred pursuant to Section 8102 before January 1, 1990, are of no further force or effect.
(e)This section shall become inoperative on March 31, 2019, and, as of January 1, 2020, is repealed.
SEC. 5.Section 8561.5 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:8561.5.(a)Notwithstanding Section 8102 or any other law, a permit issued pursuant to Section 8561 may not be transferred.
(b)This section shall become operative on March 31, 2019.
SEC. 6.Section 8579 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8579.(a)A permittee shall be subject to the provisions of this article whenever the permittee is using a drift gill net, unless the permittee has surrendered his or her permit to the department.
(b)A permittee may surrender his or her permit by notifying the department of his or her intentions by submitting a notarized form provided by the department and by sending or delivering his or her permit to a department office as prescribed on the form.
SEC. 7.Section 8583 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:8583.(a)By March 31, 2020, the department shall establish a program to transition the holders of drift gill net permits issued pursuant to Section 8561 out of the drift gill net fishery that includes the following conditions:
(1)A permittee who chooses to participate in the transition program shall indicate his or her intention to the department to participate by submitting a notarized form provided by the department on or before January 1, 2020.
(2)A permittee who has landed swordfish or thresher shark with a shark or swordfish gill net or with a federal deep set buoy gear exempted fishing permit between April 1, 2012, and March 31, 2018, inclusive, and who voluntarily surrenders his or her drift gill net permit issued pursuant to Section 8561 and shark or swordfish gill net or nets shall receive, to the extent that funds for the transition program are available, the following amounts:
(A)Ten thousand dollars ($10,000) to surrender the permit.
(B)One hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) to surrender the net or nets.
(3)A permittee who has not landed swordfish or thresher shark on or after April 1, 2012, and who voluntarily surrenders his or her drift gill net permit issued pursuant to Section 8561 and shark or swordfish gill net or nets shall receive, to the extent that funds for the transition program are available, ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
(4)The department shall inform a permittee who submits a notarized form pursuant to paragraph (1) whether the permittee meets the requirements of paragraph (2) or (3) and the department shall submit this information to the fiscal agent.
(5)Any permittee who participates in the transition program by surrendering his or her permit pursuant to paragraph (2) or (3) shall be prohibited from obtaining a new California drift gill net shark and swordfish permit, shall agree not to fish under a federal drift gill net permit, shall agree not to transfer or renew a federal drift gill net permit, and shall surrender his or her shark or swordfish gill net or nets to an entity approved by the department for the purpose of destroying the nets.
(b)(1)The department shall enter into an agreement with a fiscal agent for the fiscal agent to receive state and nonstate funds made available for purposes of the transition program, to put those funds in an escrow account, and, upon the receipt of adequate funds, to pay the applicable amount described in subdivision (a) to a participating permittee. As part of the agreement, the department shall require the fiscal agent to notify the department within 10 days of the receipt of one million dollars ($1,000,000) from nonstate sources for purposes of transitioning permittees out of the drift gill net fishery. If the department enters into an agreement with a fiscal agent that is a state entity pursuant to this subdivision, notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, any funds received from nonstate sources are continuously appropriated to that state entity for purposes of the transition program without regard to fiscal years.
(2)The department shall notify the Legislature pursuant to Section 9795 of the Government Code within 10 days of the date that the fiscal agent receives one million dollars ($1,000,000) from nonstate sources for purposes of the transition program and secures one million dollars ($1,000,000) through an agreement with the Ocean Protection Council pursuant to Section 35651 of the Public Resources Code.
(3)For purposes of this section, fiscal agent includes any of the following:
(A)The Department of Finance.
(B)The Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission.
(C)The Controller.
(D)Any appropriate state or federal agency.
SEC. 8.Section 8583.5 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:8583.5.This article does not create or recognize a property right in fish expected to be caught using a permit issued pursuant to Section 8561.
SEC. 9.Section 9028 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:9028.Notwithstanding Sections 8603 and 9025.5, it is unlawful to use fishing lines, including, but not limited to, troll lines and handlines more than 900 feet in length unless they are used as set lines pursuant to Sections 8601 and 9026 or they are used as part of deep-set buoy gear authorized under federal law.
SEC. 10.Section 35651 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:35651.The council shall use one million dollars ($1,000,000) of the amount appropriated to it in Item 0540-101-0001 of Section 2.0 of the Budget Act of 2018 (Chapter 29 of the Statutes of 2018) for whale and sea turtle entanglement to fund the transition program established pursuant to Section 8583 of Fish and Game Code. The council shall enter into an agreement with the fiscal agent described in Section 8583 of the Fish and Game Code to provide funds to the fiscal agent for permittees who participate in the transition program. If the amount described in this section is not necessary due to the number of participants who have indicated an intention to participate in the transition program pursuant to Section 8583 of Fish and Game Code, the council may redirect the remaining funds to other purposes related to whale and sea turtle entanglement.
SEC. 11.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB 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 XIIIB of the California Constitution.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)It is in the best interest of the people of the state, the commercial fishing industry, and Californias marine resources that fishermen use the most sustainable fishing gear available to harvest seafood off the California coast.
(b)Large-scale pelagic drift gill nets targeting swordfish and sharks have been banned on the high seas and in ocean waters of many countries worldwide and are banned or are no longer permitted by all other states because of the unavoidable impacts to marine wildlife, including whales, dolphins, sharks, pinnipeds, and sea turtles, including the California state marine reptile, the Pacific leatherback sea turtle. Many California species killed by the drift gill net fishery are protected under state and federal law or covered under international agreements, such as the sperm whale, the leatherback sea turtle, the loggerhead sea turtle, the bigeye thresher shark, and the scalloped hammerhead shark.
(c)Impacts to Californias marine and coastal resources have been a persistent concern with the use of drift gill nets. According to data collected pursuant to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations observer program, Californias drift gill net fishery discards on average over one-half of all fish caught, kills over 70 different marine species as bycatch, and has among the highest rates of marine mammal and sea turtle interactions across all West Coast fisheries.
(d)California should set the standard for sustainable swordfish fishing globally and follow the lead of the other states in implementing sustainable alternatives. Californias standards for sustainability and low environmental impacts in commercial fishing are critical for addressing impacts in foreign fisheries, since these standards frame the scope of international efforts to push for stronger international standards, both diplomatically and as a matter of federal law. Continuing the use of destructive fishing gears in California enables the use of similar gears in fisheries that export seafood into the United States and limits federal efforts to restrict, limit, and reduce impacts from those imports.
(e)The Pacific Fishery Management Council is in the process of authorizing a new innovative technology for fishing swordfish known as deep set buoy gear. This gear has been deployed commercially on the East Coast where it has proven to be among the most selective and sustainable gears used to catch swordfish, and results of commercial trials off California demonstrate the gear can effectively catch swordfish with minimal bycatch and bycatch mortality. This gear could be used to improve the fishing practices of Californias swordfish fishery.
(f)Given the economic and environmental benefits to the people of the state, it is the intent of the Legislature to direct new entrants into the swordfish fishery toward the use of lower impact fishing gears for a modernized fishery, while allowing current participants in the drift gill net fishery to continue those practices for a limited duration of time.
SEC. 2.Section 8394.5 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8394.5.The fee for the permit issued pursuant to Section 8394 is three hundred thirty dollars ($330). This permit fee does not apply to the holder of a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit required under Article 16 (commencing with Section 8561) or to any person who participates in the permit transition program established by the department pursuant to Section 8583.
SEC. 3.Section 8561 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8561.(a)Notwithstanding Section 8394, shark and swordfish shall not be taken for commercial purposes with drift gill nets except under a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit issued to that person that has not been suspended or revoked and is issued to at least one person aboard the boat.
(b)A drift gill net shark and swordfish permit shall not be required for the taking of sharks with drift gill nets with a mesh size smaller than eight inches in stretched mesh and twine size no. 18 or the equivalent of this twine size or smaller.
(c)Notwithstanding Section 8102 or any other law, a permit issued pursuant to this section shall be surrendered or revoked as of January 31 of the fourth year following the departments notification to the Legislature pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 8583.
SEC. 4.Section 8561.5 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8561.5.(a)Notwithstanding Section 8102, a permit issued pursuant to Section 8561 may be transferred by the permittee only if one of the following conditions is met:
(1)The permittee has held the permit for three or more years.
(2)The permittee is permanently injured or suffers a serious illness that will result in a hardship, as determined in a written finding by the director, to the permittee or his or her family if the permit may not otherwise be transferred or upon dissolution of a marriage where the permit is held to be community property.
(3)The permittee has died and his or her surviving spouse, heirs, or estate seeks to transfer the permit within six months of the death of the permittee or, with the written approval of the director, within the length of time that it may reasonably take to effect the transfer.
(b)A permit may be transferred only to a person who holds a valid general gill net permit issued to that person pursuant to Section 8681 that has not been suspended or revoked.
(c)The transfer of a permit shall only become effective upon notice from the department. An application for transfer shall be submitted to the department with such reasonable proof as the department may require to establish the qualification of the person the permit is to be transferred to, the payment to the department of a transfer fee of one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500), and a written disclosure, filed under penalty of perjury, of the terms of the transfer.
(d)Any restrictions on participation that were required in a permit transferred pursuant to Section 8102 before January 1, 1990, are of no further force or effect.
(e)This section shall become inoperative on March 31, 2019, and, as of January 1, 2020, is repealed.
SEC. 5.Section 8561.5 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:8561.5.(a)Notwithstanding Section 8102 or any other law, a permit issued pursuant to Section 8561 may not be transferred.
(b)This section shall become operative on March 31, 2019.
SEC. 6.Section 8579 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8579.(a)A permittee shall be subject to the provisions of this article whenever the permittee is using a drift gill net, unless the permittee has surrendered his or her permit to the department.
(b)A permittee may surrender his or her permit by notifying the department of his or her intentions by submitting a notarized form provided by the department and by sending or delivering his or her permit to a department office as prescribed on the form.
SEC. 7.Section 8583 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:8583.(a)By March 31, 2020, the department shall establish a program to transition the holders of drift gill net permits issued pursuant to Section 8561 out of the drift gill net fishery that includes the following conditions:
(1)A permittee who chooses to participate in the transition program shall indicate his or her intention to the department to participate by submitting a notarized form provided by the department on or before January 1, 2020.
(2)A permittee who has landed swordfish or thresher shark with a shark or swordfish gill net or with a federal deep set buoy gear exempted fishing permit between April 1, 2012, and March 31, 2018, inclusive, and who voluntarily surrenders his or her drift gill net permit issued pursuant to Section 8561 and shark or swordfish gill net or nets shall receive, to the extent that funds for the transition program are available, the following amounts:
(A)Ten thousand dollars ($10,000) to surrender the permit.
(B)One hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) to surrender the net or nets.
(3)A permittee who has not landed swordfish or thresher shark on or after April 1, 2012, and who voluntarily surrenders his or her drift gill net permit issued pursuant to Section 8561 and shark or swordfish gill net or nets shall receive, to the extent that funds for the transition program are available, ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
(4)The department shall inform a permittee who submits a notarized form pursuant to paragraph (1) whether the permittee meets the requirements of paragraph (2) or (3) and the department shall submit this information to the fiscal agent.
(5)Any permittee who participates in the transition program by surrendering his or her permit pursuant to paragraph (2) or (3) shall be prohibited from obtaining a new California drift gill net shark and swordfish permit, shall agree not to fish under a federal drift gill net permit, shall agree not to transfer or renew a federal drift gill net permit, and shall surrender his or her shark or swordfish gill net or nets to an entity approved by the department for the purpose of destroying the nets.
(b)(1)The department shall enter into an agreement with a fiscal agent for the fiscal agent to receive state and nonstate funds made available for purposes of the transition program, to put those funds in an escrow account, and, upon the receipt of adequate funds, to pay the applicable amount described in subdivision (a) to a participating permittee. As part of the agreement, the department shall require the fiscal agent to notify the department within 10 days of the receipt of one million dollars ($1,000,000) from nonstate sources for purposes of transitioning permittees out of the drift gill net fishery. If the department enters into an agreement with a fiscal agent that is a state entity pursuant to this subdivision, notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, any funds received from nonstate sources are continuously appropriated to that state entity for purposes of the transition program without regard to fiscal years.
(2)The department shall notify the Legislature pursuant to Section 9795 of the Government Code within 10 days of the date that the fiscal agent receives one million dollars ($1,000,000) from nonstate sources for purposes of the transition program and secures one million dollars ($1,000,000) through an agreement with the Ocean Protection Council pursuant to Section 35651 of the Public Resources Code.
(3)For purposes of this section, fiscal agent includes any of the following:
(A)The Department of Finance.
(B)The Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission.
(C)The Controller.
(D)Any appropriate state or federal agency.
SEC. 8.Section 8583.5 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:8583.5.This article does not create or recognize a property right in fish expected to be caught using a permit issued pursuant to Section 8561.
SEC. 9.Section 9028 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:9028.Notwithstanding Sections 8603 and 9025.5, it is unlawful to use fishing lines, including, but not limited to, troll lines and handlines more than 900 feet in length unless they are used as set lines pursuant to Sections 8601 and 9026 or they are used as part of deep-set buoy gear authorized under federal law.
SEC. 10.Section 35651 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:35651.The council shall use one million dollars ($1,000,000) of the amount appropriated to it in Item 0540-101-0001 of Section 2.0 of the Budget Act of 2018 (Chapter 29 of the Statutes of 2018) for whale and sea turtle entanglement to fund the transition program established pursuant to Section 8583 of Fish and Game Code. The council shall enter into an agreement with the fiscal agent described in Section 8583 of the Fish and Game Code to provide funds to the fiscal agent for permittees who participate in the transition program. If the amount described in this section is not necessary due to the number of participants who have indicated an intention to participate in the transition program pursuant to Section 8583 of Fish and Game Code, the council may redirect the remaining funds to other purposes related to whale and sea turtle entanglement.
SEC. 11.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB 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 XIIIB of the California Constitution.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)It is in the best interest of the people of the state, the commercial fishing industry, and Californias marine resources that fishermen use the most sustainable fishing gear available to harvest seafood off the California coast.
(b)Large-scale pelagic drift gill nets targeting swordfish and sharks have been banned on the high seas and in ocean waters of many countries worldwide and are banned or are no longer permitted by all other states because of the unavoidable impacts to marine wildlife, including whales, dolphins, sharks, pinnipeds, and sea turtles, including the California state marine reptile, the Pacific leatherback sea turtle. Many California species killed by the drift gill net fishery are protected under state and federal law or covered under international agreements, such as the sperm whale, the leatherback sea turtle, the loggerhead sea turtle, the bigeye thresher shark, and the scalloped hammerhead shark.
(c)Impacts to Californias marine and coastal resources have been a persistent concern with the use of drift gill nets. According to data collected pursuant to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations observer program, Californias drift gill net fishery discards on average over one-half of all fish caught, kills over 70 different marine species as bycatch, and has among the highest rates of marine mammal and sea turtle interactions across all West Coast fisheries.
(d)California should set the standard for sustainable swordfish fishing globally and follow the lead of the other states in implementing sustainable alternatives. Californias standards for sustainability and low environmental impacts in commercial fishing are critical for addressing impacts in foreign fisheries, since these standards frame the scope of international efforts to push for stronger international standards, both diplomatically and as a matter of federal law. Continuing the use of destructive fishing gears in California enables the use of similar gears in fisheries that export seafood into the United States and limits federal efforts to restrict, limit, and reduce impacts from those imports.
(e)The Pacific Fishery Management Council is in the process of authorizing a new innovative technology for fishing swordfish known as deep set buoy gear. This gear has been deployed commercially on the East Coast where it has proven to be among the most selective and sustainable gears used to catch swordfish, and results of commercial trials off California demonstrate the gear can effectively catch swordfish with minimal bycatch and bycatch mortality. This gear could be used to improve the fishing practices of Californias swordfish fishery.
(f)Given the economic and environmental benefits to the people of the state, it is the intent of the Legislature to direct new entrants into the swordfish fishery toward the use of lower impact fishing gears for a modernized fishery, while allowing current participants in the drift gill net fishery to continue those practices until the end of the 2023 fishing season. for a limited duration of time.
SEC. 2.Section 8394.5 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8394.5.The fee for the permit issued pursuant to Section 8394 is three hundred thirty dollars ($330). This permit fee does not apply to the holder of a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit required under Article 16 (commencing with Section 8561) or to any person who participates in the permit transition program established by the department pursuant to Section 8583.
SEC. 3.Section 8561 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8561.(a)Notwithstanding Section 8394, shark and swordfish shall not be taken for commercial purposes with drift gill nets except under a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit issued to that person that has not been suspended or revoked and is issued to at least one person aboard the boat.
(b)A drift gill net shark and swordfish permit shall not be required for the taking of sharks with drift gill nets with a mesh size smaller than eight inches in stretched mesh and twine size no. 18 or the equivalent of this twine size or smaller.
(c)Notwithstanding Section 8102 or any other law, a permit issued pursuant to this section shall be surrendered or revoked as of January 31, 2023. 31 of the fourth year following the departments notification to the Legislature pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 8583.
SEC. 4.Section 8561.5 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8561.5.(a)Notwithstanding Section 8102, a permit issued pursuant to Section 8561 may be transferred by the permittee only if one of the following conditions is met:
(1)The permittee has held the permit for three or more years.
(2)The permittee is permanently injured or suffers a serious illness that will result in a hardship, as determined in a written finding by the director, to the permittee or his or her family if the permit may not otherwise be transferred or upon dissolution of a marriage where the permit is held to be community property.
(3)The permittee has died and his or her surviving spouse, heirs, or estate seeks to transfer the permit within six months of the death of the permittee or, with the written approval of the director, within the length of time that it may reasonably take to effect the transfer.
(b)A permit may be transferred only to a person who holds a valid general gill net permit issued to that person pursuant to Section 8681 that has not been suspended or revoked.
(c)The transfer of a permit shall only become effective upon notice from the department. An application for transfer shall be submitted to the department with such reasonable proof as the department may require to establish the qualification of the person the permit is to be transferred to, the payment to the department of a transfer fee of one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500), and a written disclosure, filed under penalty of perjury, of the terms of the transfer.
(d)Any restrictions on participation that were required in a permit transferred pursuant to Section 8102 before January 1, 1990, are of no further force or effect.
(e)This section shall become inoperative on March 31, 2019, and, as of January 1, 2020, is repealed.
SEC. 5.Section 8561.5 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:8561.5.(a)Notwithstanding Section 8102 or any other law, a permit issued pursuant to Section 8561 may not be transferred.
(b)This section shall become operative on March 31, 2019.
SEC. 4.SEC. 6.Section 8579 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8579.(a)A permittee shall be subject to the provisions of this article whenever the permittee is using a drift gill net, unless the permittee has surrendered his or her permit to the department.
(b)(1)A permittee may surrender his or her permit by notifying the departments Long Beach office department of his or her intentions by telegram or certified letter submitting a notarized form provided by the department and by sending or delivering his or her permit to a department office. office as prescribed on the form.
(2)A permittee may reclaim his or her permit surrendered pursuant to paragraph (1) at any time during regular working hours, if the permit has not been suspended or revoked.(c)Paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) does not apply to any permit surrendered pursuant to Section 8583.SEC. 5.SEC. 7.Section 8583 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:8583.(a)Between January 1, 2019, and By March 31, 2020, inclusive, the department shall develop establish a program to transition the holders of drift gill net permits issued pursuant to Section 8561 out of the drift gill net fishery that includes the following conditions:
(1)A permittee who chooses to participate in the transition program shall indicate his or her intention to the department to participate by submitting a notarized form provided by the department on or before January 1, 2020.
(1)The department shall pay a(2)A permittee who has landed swordfish or thresher shark with a large mesh drift shark or swordfish gill net or with a federal deep set buoy gear exempted fishing permit between April 1, 2012, and March 31, 2018, inclusive, and who voluntarily surrenders his or her drift gill net permit issued pursuant to Section 8561 and shark or swordfish gill net or nets shall receive, to the extent that funds for the transition program are available, the following amounts:
(A)The fair market value of the drift gill net permit not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000).(B)The fair market value of a 14-inch mesh drift gill net not to exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), if the permittee surrenders the net pursuant to paragraph (3).(A)Ten thousand dollars ($10,000) to surrender the permit.
(B)One hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) to surrender the net or nets.
(2)The department shall pay a(3)A permittee who has not landed swordfish or thresher shark on or after April 1, 2012, and who voluntarily surrenders his or her drift gill net permit issued pursuant to Section 8561 the fair market value of the drift gill net permit, not to exceed and shark or swordfish gill net or nets shall receive, to the extent that funds for the transition program are available, ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
(4)The department shall inform a permittee who submits a notarized form pursuant to paragraph (1) whether the permittee meets the requirements of paragraph (2) or (3) and the department shall submit this information to the fiscal agent.
(3)(5)Any permittee who participates in the transition program by surrendering his or her permit pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) or (3) shall be prohibited from obtaining a new California drift gill net shark and swordfish permit, shall agree not to fish under a federal drift gill net permit, shall agree not to transfer or renew a federal drift gill net permit, and shall surrender his or her large mesh drift shark or swordfish gill net. net or nets to an entity approved by the department for the purpose of destroying the nets.
(b)(1)The department may obtain funding from federal, state, nonprofit, or private sources for the transition program. The department shall inform both budget committees and all policy committees with jurisdiction over fisheries issues once it has received funding from private or federal entities equal to one-third of the projected cost of the transition program.(2)The department shall implement the transition program developed pursuant to subdivision (a) upon appropriation by the Legislature of state funds and the private or federal funds received by the department for purposes of implementing the transition program.(c)The department shall undertake all reasonable and feasible efforts to obtain funding from the Ocean Protection Council, nonprofit foundations, and federal agencies to implement this section.(b)(1)The department shall enter into an agreement with a fiscal agent for the fiscal agent to receive state and nonstate funds made available for purposes of the transition program, to put those funds in an escrow account, and, upon the receipt of adequate funds, to pay the applicable amount described in subdivision (a) to a participating permittee. As part of the agreement, the department shall require the fiscal agent to notify the department within 10 days of the receipt of one million dollars ($1,000,000) from nonstate sources for purposes of transitioning permittees out of the drift gill net fishery. If the department enters into an agreement with a fiscal agent that is a state entity pursuant to this subdivision, notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, any funds received from nonstate sources are continuously appropriated to that state entity for purposes of the transition program without regard to fiscal years.
(2)The department shall notify the Legislature pursuant to Section 9795 of the Government Code within 10 days of the date that the fiscal agent receives one million dollars ($1,000,000) from nonstate sources for purposes of the transition program and secures one million dollars ($1,000,000) through an agreement with the Ocean Protection Council pursuant to Section 35651 of the Public Resources Code.
(3)For purposes of this section, fiscal agent includes any of the following:
(A)The Department of Finance.
(B)The Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission.
(C)The Controller.
(D)Any appropriate state or federal agency.
SEC. 6.SEC. 8.Section 8583.5 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:8583.5.This article does not create or recognize a property right in fish expected to be caught using a permit issued pursuant to Section 8561.
SEC. 9.Section 9028 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:9028.Notwithstanding Sections 8603 and 9025, 9025.5, it is unlawful to use fishing lines, including, but not limited to, troll lines and handlines more than 900 feet in length unless they are used as set lines pursuant to Sections 8601 and 9026. 9026 or they are used as part of deep-set buoy gear authorized under federal law.
SEC. 10.Section 35651 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:35651.The council shall use one million dollars ($1,000,000) of the amount appropriated to it in Item 0540-101-0001 of Section 2.0 of the Budget Act of 2018 (Chapter 29 of the Statutes of 2018) for whale and sea turtle entanglement to fund the transition program established pursuant to Section 8583 of Fish and Game Code. The council shall enter into an agreement with the fiscal agent described in Section 8583 of the Fish and Game Code to provide funds to the fiscal agent for permittees who participate in the transition program. If the amount described in this section is not necessary due to the number of participants who have indicated an intention to participate in the transition program pursuant to Section 8583 of Fish and Game Code, the council may redirect the remaining funds to other purposes related to whale and sea turtle entanglement.
SEC. 7.SEC. 11.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB 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 XIIIB of the California Constitution.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)It is in the best interest of the people of the state, the commercial fishing industry, and Californias marine resources that fishermen use the most sustainable fishing gear available to harvest seafood off the California coast.
(b)Large-scale pelagic drift gill nets targeting swordfish and sharks have been banned on the high seas and in ocean waters of many countries worldwide and are banned or are no longer permitted by all other states because of the unavoidable impacts to marine wildlife, including whales, dolphins, sharks, pinnipeds, and sea turtles, including the California state marine reptile, the Pacific leatherback sea turtle. Many California species killed by the drift gill net fishery are protected under state and federal law or covered under international agreements, such as the sperm whale, the leatherback sea turtle, the loggerhead sea turtle, the bigeye thresher shark, and the scalloped hammerhead shark.
(c)Impacts to Californias marine and coastal resources have been a persistent concern with the use of drift gill nets. According to data collected pursuant to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations observer program, Californias drift gill net fishery discards on average over one-half of all fish caught, kills over 70 different marine species as bycatch, and has among the highest rates of marine mammal and sea turtle interactions across all West Coast fisheries.
(d)California should set the standard for sustainable swordfish fishing globally and follow the lead of the other states in implementing sustainable alternatives. Californias standards for sustainability and low environmental impacts in commercial fishing are critical for addressing impacts in foreign fisheries, since these standards frame the scope of international efforts to push for stronger international standards, both diplomatically and as a matter of federal law. Continuing the use of destructive fishing gears in California enables the use of similar gears in fisheries that export seafood into the United States and limits federal efforts to restrict, limit, and reduce impacts from those imports.
(e)The Pacific Fishery Management Council is in the process of authorizing a new innovative technology for fishing swordfish known as deep set buoy gear. This gear has been deployed commercially on the East Coast where it has proven to be among the most selective and sustainable gears used to catch swordfish, and results of commercial trials off California demonstrate the gear can effectively catch swordfish with minimal bycatch and bycatch mortality. This gear could be used to improve the fishing practices of Californias swordfish fishery.
(f)Given the economic and environmental benefits to the people of the state, it is the intent of the Legislature to direct new entrants into the swordfish fishery toward the use of lower impact fishing gears for a modernized fishery, while allowing current participants in the drift gill net fishery to continue those practices until the end of the 2023 fishing season.
SEC. 2.Section 8394.5 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8394.5.The fee for the permit issued pursuant to Section 8394 is three hundred thirty dollars ($330). This permit fee does not apply to the holder of a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit required under Article 16 (commencing with Section 8561) or to any person who participates in the permit transition program established by the department pursuant to Section 8583.
SEC. 3.Section 8561 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8561.(a)Notwithstanding Section 8394, shark and swordfish shall not be taken for commercial purposes with drift gill nets except under a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit issued to that person that has not been suspended or revoked and is issued to at least one person aboard the boat.
(b)A drift gill net shark and swordfish permit shall not be required for the taking of sharks with drift gill nets with a mesh size smaller than eight inches in stretched mesh and twine size no. 18 or the equivalent of this twine size or smaller.
(c)Notwithstanding Section 8102 or any other law, a permit issued pursuant to this section shall be surrendered or revoked as of January 31, 2023.
SEC. 4.Section 8579 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8579.(a)A permittee shall be subject to the provisions of this article whenever the permittee is using a drift gill net, unless the permittee has surrendered his or her permit to the department.
(b)(1)A permittee may surrender his or her permit by notifying the departments Long Beach office of his or her intentions by telegram or certified letter and by sending or delivering his or her permit to a department office.
(2)A permittee may reclaim his or her permit surrendered pursuant to paragraph (1) at any time during regular working hours, if the permit has not been suspended or revoked.
(c)Paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) does not apply to any permit surrendered pursuant to Section 8583.
SEC. 5.Section 8583 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:8583.(a)Between January 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020, inclusive, the department shall develop a program to transition the holders of drift gill net permits issued pursuant to Section 8561 out of the drift gill net fishery that includes the following conditions:
(1)The department shall pay a permittee who has landed swordfish or thresher shark with a large mesh drift gill net between April 1, 2012, and March 31, 2018, inclusive, and who voluntarily surrenders his or her drift gill net permit issued pursuant to Section 8561 the following amounts:
(A)The fair market value of the drift gill net permit not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
(B)The fair market value of a 14-inch mesh drift gill net not to exceed sixty-five one hundred thousand dollars ($65,000), ($100,000), if the permittee surrenders the net pursuant to paragraph (3).
(2)The department shall pay a permittee who has not landed swordfish or thresher shark on or after April 1, 2012, and who voluntarily surrenders his or her drift gill net permit issued pursuant to Section 8561 the fair market value of the drift gill net permit, not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
(3)Any permittee who participates in the transition program by surrendering his or her permit pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) shall be prohibited from obtaining a new California drift gill net shark and swordfish permit, shall agree not to fish under a federal drift gill net permit, shall agree not to transfer or renew a federal drift gill net permit, and shall surrender his or her large mesh drift gill net.
(b)(1)The department may obtain funding from federal, state, nonprofit, or private sources for the transition program. The department shall inform both budget committees and all policy committees with jurisdiction over fisheries issues once it has received funding from private or federal entities equal to one-third of the projected cost of the transition program.
(2)The department shall implement the transition program developed pursuant to subdivision (a) upon appropriation by the Legislature of state funds and the private or federal funds received by the department for purposes of implementing the transition program and matching state funds. program.
(c)The department shall undertake all reasonable and feasible efforts to obtain funding from the Ocean Protection Council, nonprofit foundations, and federal agencies to implement this section.
SEC. 6.Section 8583.5 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:8583.5.This article does not create or recognize a property right in fish expected to be caught using a permit issued pursuant to Section 8561.
SEC. 7.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB 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 XIIIB of the California Constitution.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)It is in the best interest of the people of the state, the commercial fishing industry, and Californias marine resources that fishermen use the most sustainable fishing gear available to harvest seafood off the California coast.
(b)Large-scale pelagic drift gill nets targeting swordfish and sharks have been banned on the high seas and in ocean waters of many countries worldwide and are banned or are no longer permitted by all other states because of the unavoidable impacts to marine wildlife, including whales, dolphins, sharks, pinnipeds, and sea turtles, including the California state marine reptile, the Pacific leatherback sea turtle. Many California species killed by the drift gill net fishery are protected under state and federal law or covered under international agreements, such as the sperm whale, the leatherback sea turtle, the loggerhead sea turtle, the bigeye thresher shark, and the scalloped hammerhead shark.
(c)Impacts to Californias marine and coastal resources have been a persistent concern with the use of drift gill nets. According to data collected pursuant to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations observer program, Californias drift gill net fishery discards on average over one-half of all fish caught, kills over 70 different marine species as bycatch, and has among the highest rates of marine mammal and sea turtle interactions across all West Coast fisheries.
(d)California should set the standard for sustainable swordfish fishing globally and follow the lead of the other states in implementing sustainable alternatives. Californias standards for sustainability and low environmental impacts in commercial fishing are critical for addressing impacts in foreign fisheries, since these standards frame the scope of international efforts to push for stronger international standards, both diplomatically and as a matter of federal law. Continuing the use of destructive fishing gears in California enables the use of similar gears in fisheries that export seafood into the United States and limits federal efforts to restrict, limit, and reduce impacts from those imports.
(e)The Pacific Fishery Management Council is in the process of authorizing a new innovative technology for fishing swordfish known as deep set buoy gear. This gear has been deployed commercially on the East Coast where it has proven to be among the most selective and sustainable gears used to catch swordfish, and results of commercial trials off California demonstrate the gear can effectively catch swordfish with minimal bycatch and bycatch mortality. This gear could be used to improve the fishing practices of Californias swordfish fishery.
(f)Given the economic and environmental benefits to the people of the state, it is the intent of the Legislature to direct new entrants into the swordfish fishery toward the use of lower impact fishing gears for a modernized fishery, while allowing current participants in the drift gill net fishery to continue those practices until the end of the 2023 fishing season.
SEC. 2.Section 8394.5 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8394.5.The fee for the permit issued pursuant to Section 8394 is three hundred thirty dollars ($330). This permit fee does not apply to the holder of a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit required under Article 16 (commencing with Section 8561) or to any person who participates in the permit transition program established by the department pursuant to Section 8583.
SEC. 3.Section 8561 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8561.(a)Notwithstanding Section 8394, shark and swordfish shall not be taken for commercial purposes with drift gill nets except under a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit issued to that person that has not been suspended or revoked and is issued to at least one person aboard the boat.
(b)A drift gill net shark and swordfish permit shall not be required for the taking of sharks with drift gill nets with a mesh size smaller than eight inches in stretched mesh and twine size no. 18 or the equivalent of this twine size or smaller.
(c)Notwithstanding Section 8102 or any other law, a permit issued pursuant to this section shall be surrendered or revoked as of January 31, 2023.
SEC. 4.Section 8567 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8567.The fee for a drift gill net shark and swordfish permit that expires on March 31, 2019, shall be four hundred eighty-two dollars and seventy-five cents ($482.75).SEC. 5.SEC. 4.Section 8579 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8579.(a)A permittee shall be subject to the provisions of this article whenever the permittee is using a drift gill net, unless the permittee has surrendered his or her permit to the department.
(b)(1)A permittee may surrender his or her permit by notifying the departments Long Beach office of his or her intentions by telegram or certified letter and by sending or delivering his or her permit to a department office.
(2)A permittee may reclaim his or her permit surrendered pursuant to paragraph (1) at any time during regular working hours, if the permit has not been suspended or revoked.
(c)Paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) does not apply to any permit surrendered pursuant to Section 8583.
SEC. 6.SEC. 5.Section 8583 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:8583.(a)Between January 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020, inclusive, the department shall develop a program to transition the holders of drift gill net permits issued pursuant to Section 8561 out of the drift gill net fishery that includes the following conditions:
(1)The department shall pay permittees who have a permittee who has landed swordfish or thresher shark on or after with a large mesh drift gill net between April 1, 2012, and March 31, 2018, inclusive, and who voluntarily surrender their permits surrenders his or her drift gill net permit issued pursuant to Section 8561 the following amounts:
(A)The fair market value of a the drift gill net permit issued pursuant to Section 8561, not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
(B)The fair market value of a 14-inch mesh drift gill net not to exceed sixty-five thousand dollars ($65,000), if the permittee destroys or surrenders the net. net pursuant to paragraph (3).
(2)Permittees The department shall pay a permittee who have has not landed swordfish or thresher shark on or after April 1, 2012, and who volunteer to participate in the transition program shall receive voluntarily surrenders his or her drift gill net permit issued pursuant to Section 8561 the fair market value for a permit issued pursuant to Section 8561, of the drift gill net permit, not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
(3)Any permittee who participates in the transition program by surrendering his or her permit pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) shall be prohibited from obtaining a new California drift gill net shark and swordfish permit, shall agree not to fish under a federal drift gill net permit, shall agree not to transfer or renew a federal drift gill net permit, and shall surrender his or her large mesh drift gill net.
(b)(1)The department may obtain funding from federal, state, nonprofit, or private sources for the transition program. The department shall inform both budget committees and all policy committees with jurisdiction over fisheries issues once it has received funding from private or federal entities equal to one-third of the projected cost of the transition program.
(2)The department shall implement the transition program developed pursuant to subdivision (a) upon appropriation by the Legislature of the private or federal funds received by the department for purposes of implementing the transition program and matching state funds.
(c)The department shall undertake all reasonable and feasible efforts to obtain funding from the Ocean Protection Council, nonprofit foundations, and federal agencies to implement this section.
SEC. 7.SEC. 6.Section 8583.5 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:8583.5.This article does not create or recognize a property right in fish expected to be caught using a permit issued pursuant to Section 8561.
SEC. 8.SEC. 7.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB 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 XIIIB of the California Constitution.
REVISIONS: HeadingLine 5.The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)It is in the best interest of the people of the state, the commercial fishing industry, and Californias marine resources that fishermen use the most sustainable fishing gear available to harvest seafood off the California coast.
(b)Large-scale pelagic drift gill nets targeting swordfish and sharks have been banned on the high seas and in ocean waters of many countries worldwide and are banned or are no longer permitted by all other states because of the unavoidable impacts to marine wildlife, including whales, dolphins, sharks, pinnipeds, and sea turtles, including the California state marine reptile, the Pacific leatherback sea turtle. Many California species killed by the drift gill net fishery are protected under state and federal law or covered under international agreements, such as the sperm whale, the leatherback sea turtle, the loggerhead sea turtle, the bigeye thresher shark, and the scalloped hammerhead shark.
(c)Impacts to Californias marine and coastal resources have been a persistent concern with the use of drift gill nets. According to data collected pursuant to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations observer program, Californias drift gill net fishery discards on average over one-half of all fish caught, kills over 70 different marine species as bycatch, and has among the highest rates of marine mammal and sea turtle interactions across all West Coast fisheries.
(d)California should set the standard for sustainable swordfish fishing globally and follow the lead of the other states in implementing sustainable alternatives. Californias standards for sustainability and low environmental impacts in commercial fishing are critical for addressing impacts in foreign fisheries, since these standards frame the scope of international efforts to push for stronger international standards, both diplomatically and as a matter of federal law. Continuing the use of destructive fishing gears in California enables the use of similar gears in fisheries that export seafood into the United States and limits federal efforts to restrict, limit, and reduce impacts from those imports.
(e)The Pacific Fishery Management Council is in the process of authorizing a new innovative technology for fishing swordfish known as deep set buoy gear. This gear has been deployed commercially on the East Coast where it has proven to be among the most selective and sustainable gears used to catch swordfish, and results of commercial trials off California demonstrate the gear can effectively catch swordfish with minimal bycatch or and bycatch mortality. This gear could be used to improve the fishing practices of Californias swordfish fishery.
(f)Given the economic and environmental benefits to the people of the state, California should prioritize financial support for the deployment of innovative sustainable gear types. It state, it is the intent of the Legislature to direct new entrants into the swordfish fishery toward the use of lower impact fishing gears for a modern modernized fishery, while allowing current participants in the drift gill net fishery to continue those practices with additional monitoring and bycatch safeguards until retirement. until the end of the 2023 fishing season.
SEC. 2.Section 60.5 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:60.5.Observer means an independent specialist who serves aboard a fishing vessel for the purpose of monitoring catch and bycatch.SEC. 3.SEC. 2.Section 8394.5 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8394.5.The fee for the permit issued pursuant to Section 8394 is three hundred thirty dollars ($330). This permit fee does not apply to the holder of a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit required under Article 16 (commencing with Section 8561) or to any person who participates in the permit buyback transition program established by the department pursuant to Section 8583.
SEC. 3.Section 8561 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8561.(a)Notwithstanding Section 8394, shark and swordfish shall not be taken for commercial purposes with drift gill nets except under a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit issued to that person that has not been suspended or revoked and is issued to at least one person aboard the boat.
(b)A drift gill net shark and swordfish permit shall not be required for the taking of sharks with drift gill nets with a mesh size smaller than eight inches in stretched mesh and twine size no. 18 or the equivalent of this twine size or smaller.
(c)Notwithstanding Section 8102 or any other law, a permit issued pursuant to this section shall be surrendered or revoked as of January 31, 2023.
SEC. 4.Section 8561.5 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8561.5.(a)Notwithstanding Section 8102, a permit issued pursuant to Section 8561 may be transferred by the permittee only if one of the following conditions is met:(1)The permittee has held the permit for three or more years.(2)The permittee is permanently injured or suffers a serious illness that will result in a hardship, as determined in a written finding by the director, to the permittee or his or her family if the permit may not otherwise be transferred or upon dissolution of a marriage where the permit is held to be community property.(3)The permittee has died and his or her surviving spouse, heirs, or estate seeks to transfer the permit within six months of the death of the permittee or, with the written approval of the director, within the length of time that it may reasonably take to effect the transfer.(b)A permit may be transferred only to a person who holds a valid general gill net permit issued to that person pursuant to Section 8681 that has not been suspended or revoked.(c)The transfer of a permit shall only become effective upon notice from the department. An application for transfer shall be submitted to the department with such reasonable proof as the department may require to establish the qualification of the person the permit is to be transferred to, the payment to the department of a transfer fee of one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500), and a written disclosure, filed under penalty of perjury, of the terms of the transfer.(d)Any restrictions on participation that were required in a permit transferred pursuant to Section 8102 before January 1, 1990, are of no further force or effect.(e)This section shall become inoperative on March 31, 2019, and, as of January 1, 2020, is repealed.SEC. 5.Section 8561.5 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:8561.5.(a)Notwithstanding Section 8102 or any other law, a permit issued pursuant to Section 8561 may only be transferred by the permittee to an entity engaged in retiring permits.(b)This section shall become operative on March 31, 2019.SEC. 6.SEC. 4.Section 8567 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8567.(a)The fee for a drift gill net shark and swordfish permit that expires on March 31, 2019, shall be four hundred eighty-two dollars and seventy-five cents ($482.75).
(b)The fee for a drift gill net shark and swordfish permit that is valid for the license year beginning April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020, inclusive, shall be one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500).(c)The fee for a drift gill net shark and swordfish permit that is valid in any license year beginning on or after April 1, 2020, shall be three thousand dollars ($3,000), as adjusted pursuant to Section 713.SEC. 7.Section 8578 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:8578.(a)From April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2025, inclusive, the department shall require, as a condition of receiving a permit pursuant to Section 8561, every permittee to have an observer on board his or her vessel on each trip in which the permittee uses a drift gill net.(b)On or before January 1, 2020, the department shall adopt hard caps, which shall be effective from April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2025, inclusive, for bycatch consistent with the preferred alternative for the California large mesh drift gill net fishery adopted by the Pacific Fishery Management Council in September 2015. Notwithstanding Section 8577, if the department determines that a hard cap for any species is reached in any given two-year period, the department shall immediately close the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery for the remainder of that period.(c)The department shall evaluate bycatch data gathered from observers and determine by April 1, 2025, whether the continued use of observers and hard caps is warranted in order to protect marine life species caught as bycatch in the fishery. If the department determines that the continued use of observers and hard caps is warranted, the department shall adopt regulations to be effective beginning April 1, 2025, to require the continued use of observers and hard caps in the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery with any adjustments the department deems necessary to protect marine life species caught as bycatch in the fishery.(d)For purposes of this section, hard cap means the total maximum number of any marine life species allowed to be injured or killed in a drift gill net before closure of the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery.SEC. 8.SEC. 5.Section 8579 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8579.(a)A permittee shall be subject to the provisions of this article whenever the permittee is using a drift gill net, unless the permittee has surrendered his or her permit to the department.
(b)(1)A permittee may surrender his or her permit by notifying the departments Long Beach office of his or her intentions by telegram or certified letter and by sending or delivering his or her permit to a department office.
(2)A permittee may reclaim his or her permit surrendered pursuant to paragraph (1) at any time during regular working hours, if the permit has not been suspended or revoked.
(c)Paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) does not apply to any permit surrendered pursuant to Section 8583.
SEC. 9.SEC. 6.Section 8583 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:8583.(a)Between January 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020, inclusive, the department shall develop a program to buy back permits issued pursuant to Section 8561 transition the holders of drift gill net permits issued pursuant to Section 8561 out of the drift gill net fishery that includes the following conditions:
(1)The department shall conduct a reverse sealed bid auction for pay permittees who have landed swordfish or thresher shark on or after April 1, 2012. Each qualifying permittee who volunteers to participate shall submit an irrevocable bid. The department shall purchase permits starting with lowest bids until 75 percent of available funds are expended. 2012, and who voluntarily surrender their permits the following amounts:
(A)The fair market value of a drift gill net permit issued pursuant to Section 8561, not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
(B)The fair market value of a 14-inch mesh drift gill net not to exceed sixty-five thousand dollars ($65,000), if the permittee destroys or surrenders the net.
(2)Permittees who have not landed swordfish or thresher shark on or after April 1, 2007, but not on or after April 1, 2012, and who volunteer to participate in the buyback program shall be compensated three times the five-year average of the value of the permittees swordfish and thresher shark landings from April 1, 2007, to March 31, 2012, or ____ dollars ($____), whichever is larger. 2012, and who volunteer to participate in the transition program shall receive the fair market value for a permit issued pursuant to Section 8561, not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
(3)Permittees who have not landed swordfish or thresher shark since April 1, 2007, and who volunteer to participate in the buyback program shall receive ____ dollars ($____).(4)(3)Any permittee who participates in the buyback transition program shall be prohibited from obtaining a new California drift gill net shark and swordfish permit, shall agree not to fish under a federal drift gill net permit, shall agree not to transfer or renew a federal drift gill net permit, and shall surrender his or her large mesh drift gill net.
(b)The department shall implement the buyback program developed pursuant to subdivision (a) upon appropriation by the Legislature of private or federal funding received by the department for the purposes of implementing the buyback program. (1)The department may obtain funding from federal, state, nonprofit, or private sources for the buyback transition program. The department shall inform both budget committees and all policy committees with jurisdiction over fisheries issues once it has received funding from private or federal entities equal to one-third of the projected cost of the buyback transition program.
(2)The department shall implement the transition program developed pursuant to subdivision (a) upon appropriation by the Legislature of the private or federal funds received by the department for purposes of implementing the transition program and matching state funds.
(c)The department shall undertake all reasonable and feasible efforts to obtain funding from the Ocean Protection Council, nonprofit foundations, and federal agencies to implement this section.
SEC. 7.Section 8583.5 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:8583.5.This article does not create or recognize a property right in fish expected to be caught using a permit issued pursuant to Section 8561.
SEC. 10.SEC. 8.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB 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 XIIIB of the California Constitution.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)It is in the best interest of the people of the state, the commercial fishing industry, and Californias marine resources that fishermen use the most sustainable fishing gear available to harvest seafood off the California coast.
(b)Large-scale pelagic drift gill nets targeting swordfish and sharks have been banned on the high seas and in ocean waters of many countries worldwide and are banned or are no longer permitted by all other states because of the unavoidable impacts to marine wildlife, including whales, dolphins, sharks, pinnipeds, and sea turtles, including the California state marine reptile, the Pacific leatherback sea turtle. Many California species killed by the drift gill net fishery are protected under state and federal law or covered under international agreements, such as the sperm whale, the leatherback sea turtle, the loggerhead sea turtle, the bigeye thresher shark, and the scalloped hammerhead shark.
(c)Impacts to Californias marine and coastal resources have been a persistent concern with the use of drift gill nets. According to data collected pursuant to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations observer program, Californias drift gill net fishery discards on average over one-half of all fish caught, kills over 70 different marine species as bycatch, and has among the highest rates of marine mammal and sea turtle interactions across all West Coast fisheries.
(d)California should set the standard for sustainable swordfish fishing globally and follow the lead of the other states in implementing sustainable alternatives. Californias standards for sustainability and low environmental impacts in commercial fishing are critical for addressing impacts in foreign fisheries, since these standards frame the scope of international efforts to push for stronger international standards, both diplomatically and as a matter of federal law. Continuing the use of destructive fishing gears in California enables the use of similar gears in fisheries that export seafood into the United States and limits federal efforts to restrict, limit, and reduce impacts from those imports.
(e)The Pacific Fisheries Fishery Management Council is in the process of authorizing a new innovative technology for fishing swordfish known as deep set buoy gear. This gear has been deployed commercially on the East Coast where it has proven to be among the most selective and sustainable gears used to catch swordfish, and results of commercial trials off California demonstrate the gear can effectively catch swordfish with minimal bycatch or bycatch mortality. This gear could be used to improve the fishing practices of Californias swordfish fishery.
(f)Given the economic and environmental benefits to the people of the state, California should prioritize financial support for the deployment of innovative sustainable gear types. It is the intent of the Legislature to direct new entrants into the swordfish fishery toward the use of lower impact fishing gears for a modern fishery, while allowing current participants in the drift gill net fishery to continue those practices with additional monitoring and bycatch safeguards until retirement.
SEC. 2.Section 60.5 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:60.5.Observer means an independent specialist who serves aboard a fishing vessel for the purpose of monitoring catch and bycatch.
SEC. 3.Section 8394.5 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8394.5.The fee for the permit issued pursuant to Section 8394 is three hundred thirty dollars ($330). This permit fee does not apply to the holder of a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit required under Article 16 (commencing with Section 8561) or to any person who participates in the permit buyback program established by the department pursuant to Section 8583.
SEC. 4.Section 8561.5 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8561.5.(a)Notwithstanding Section 8102, a permit issued pursuant to Section 8561 may be transferred by the permittee only if one of the following conditions is met:
(1)The permittee has held the permit for three or more years.
(2)The permittee is permanently injured or suffers a serious illness that will result in a hardship, as determined in a written finding by the director, to the permittee or his or her family if the permit may not otherwise be transferred or upon dissolution of a marriage where the permit is held to be community property.
(3)The permittee has died and his or her surviving spouse, heirs, or estate seeks to transfer the permit within six months of the death of the permittee or, with the written approval of the director, within the length of time that it may reasonably take to effect the transfer.
(b)A permit may be transferred only to a person who holds a valid general gill net permit issued to that person pursuant to Section 8681 that has not been suspended or revoked.
(c)The transfer of a permit shall only become effective upon notice from the department. An application for transfer shall be submitted to the department with such reasonable proof as the department may require to establish the qualification of the person the permit is to be transferred to, the payment to the department of a transfer fee of one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500), and a written disclosure, filed under penalty of perjury, of the terms of the transfer.
(d)Any restrictions on participation that were required in a permit transferred pursuant to Section 8102 before January 1, 1990, are of no further force or effect.
(e)This section shall become inoperative on March 31, 2019, and, as of January 1, 2020, is repealed.
SEC. 5.Section 8561.5 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:8561.5.(a)Notwithstanding Section 8102 or any other law, a permit issued pursuant to Section 8561 may only be transferred by the permittee to an entity engaged in retiring permits.
(b)This section shall become operative on March 31, 2019.
SEC. 6.Section 8567 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8567.(a)The fee for a drift gill net shark and swordfish permit that expires on March 31, 2019, shall be four hundred eighty-two dollars and seventy-five cents ($482.75).
(b)The fee for a drift gill net shark and swordfish permit that is valid for the license year beginning April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020, inclusive, shall be one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500).
(c)The fee for a drift gill net shark and swordfish permit that is valid in any license year beginning on or after April 1, 2020, shall be three thousand dollars ($3,000), as adjusted pursuant to Section 713.
SEC. 7.Section 8578 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:8578.(a)From April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2025, inclusive, the department shall require, as a condition of receiving a permit pursuant to Section 8561, every permittee to have an observer on board his or her vessel on each trip in which the permittee uses a drift gill net.
(b)On or before January 1, 2020, the department shall adopt hard caps, which shall be effective from April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2025, inclusive, for bycatch consistent with the preferred alternative for the California large mesh drift gill net fishery adopted by the Pacific Fishery Management Council in September 2015. Notwithstanding Section 8577, if the department determines that a hard cap for any species is reached in any given two-year period, the department shall immediately close the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery for the remainder of that period.
(c)The department shall evaluate bycatch data gathered from observers and determine by April 1, 2025, whether the continued use of observers and hard caps is warranted in order to protect marine life species caught as bycatch in the fishery. If the department determines that the continued use of observers and hard caps is warranted, the department shall adopt regulations to be effective beginning April 1, 2025, to require the continued use of observers and hard caps in the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery with any adjustments the department deems necessary to protect marine life species caught as bycatch in the fishery.
(d)For purposes of this section, hard cap means the total maximum number of any marine life species allowed to be injured or killed in a drift gill net before closure of the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery.
SEC. 8.Section 8579 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8579.(a)A permittee shall be subject to the provisions of this article whenever the permittee is using a drift gill net, unless the permittee has surrendered his or her permit to the department.
(b)(1)A permittee may surrender his or her permit by notifying the departments Long Beach office of his or her intentions by telegram or certified letter and by sending or delivering his or her permit to a department office.
(2)A permittee may reclaim his or her permit surrendered pursuant to paragraph (1) at any time during regular working hours, if the permit has not been suspended or revoked.
(c)Paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) does not apply to any permit surrendered pursuant to Section 8583.
SEC. 9.Section 8583 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:8583.(a)Between January 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020, inclusive, the department shall develop a program to buy back permits issued pursuant to Section 8561 that includes the following conditions:
(1)The department shall conduct a reverse sealed bid auction for permittees who have landed swordfish or thresher shark on or after April 1, 2012. Each qualifying permittee who volunteers to participate shall submit an irrevocable bid. The department shall purchase permits starting with lowest bids until 75 percent of available funds are expended.
(2)Permittees who have landed swordfish or thresher shark on or after April 1, 2007, but not on or after April 1, 2012, and who volunteer to participate in the buyback program shall be compensated three times the five-year average of the value of the permittees swordfish and thresher shark landings from April 1, 2007, to March 31, 2012, or ____ dollars ($____), whichever is larger.
(3)Permittees who have not landed swordfish or thresher shark since April 1, 2007, and who volunteer to participate in the buyback program shall receive ____ dollars ($____).
(4)Any permittee who participates in the buyback program shall be prohibited from obtaining a new California drift gill net shark and swordfish permit, shall agree not to fish under a federal drift gillnet gill net permit, shall agree not to transfer or renew a federal drift gillnet gill net permit, and shall surrender his or her large mesh drift gill net.
(b)The department shall implement the buyback program developed pursuant to subdivision (a) upon appropriation by the Legislature of private or federal funding received by the department for the purposes of implementing the buyback program. The department may obtain funding from federal, state, nonprofit, or private sources for the buyback program. The department shall inform both budget committees and all policy committees with jurisdiction over fisheries issues once it has received funding equal to one-third of the projected cost of the buyback program.
SEC. 10.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB 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 XIIIB of the California Constitution.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)It is in the best interest of the people of the state, the commercial fishing industry, and Californias marine resources that fishermen use the most sustainable fishing gear available to harvest seafood off the California coast.
(b)Large-scale pelagic drift gill nets targeting swordfish and sharks have been banned on the high seas and in ocean waters of many countries worldwide and are banned or are no longer permitted by all other states because of the unavoidable impacts to marine wildlife, including whales, dolphins, sharks, pinnipeds, and sea turtles, including the California state marine reptile, the Pacific leatherback sea turtle. Many California species killed by the drift gill net fishery are protected under state and federal law or covered under international agreements, such as the sperm whale, the leatherback sea turtle, the loggerhead sea turtle, the bigeye thresher shark, and the scalloped hammerhead shark.
(c)Impacts to Californias marine and coastal resources have been a persistent concern with the use of drift gill nets. According to data collected pursuant to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations observer program, Californias drift gill net fishery discards on average over one-half of all fish caught, kills over 70 different marine species as bycatch, and has among the highest rates of marine mammal and sea turtle interactions across all West Coast fisheries.
(d)California should set the standard for sustainable swordfish fishing globally and follow the lead of the other states in implementing sustainable alternatives. Californias standards for sustainability and low environmental impacts in commercial fishing are critical for addressing impacts in foreign fisheries, since these standards frame the scope of international efforts to push for stronger international standards, both diplomatically and as a matter of federal law. Continuing the use of destructive fishing gears in California enables the use of similar gears in fisheries that export seafood into the United States and limits federal efforts to restrict, limit, and reduce impacts from those imports.
(e)The Pacific Fisheries Management Council is in the process of authorizing a new innovative technology for fishing swordfish known as deep set buoy gear. This gear has been deployed commercially on the East Coast where it has proven to be among the most selective and sustainable gears used to catch swordfish, and results of commercial trials off California demonstrate the gear can effectively catch swordfish with minimal bycatch or bycatch mortality. This gear could be used to improve the fishing practices of Californias swordfish fishery.
(f)Given the economic and environmental benefits to the people of the state, California should prioritize financial support for the deployment of innovative sustainable gear types. It is the intent of the Legislature to direct new entrants into the swordfish fishery toward the use of lower impact fishing gears for a modern fishery, while allowing current participants in the drift gill net fishery to continue those practices with additional monitoring and bycatch safeguards until retirement.
SEC. 2.Section 60.5 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:60.5.Observer means an independent specialist who serves aboard a fishing vessel for the purpose of monitoring catch and bycatch.
SEC. 3.Section 8394.5 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8394.5.The fee for the permit issued pursuant to Section 8394 is three hundred thirty dollars ($330). This permit fee does not apply to the holder of a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit required under Article 16 (commencing with Section 8560) of Chapter 2. 8561) or to any person who participates in the permit buyback program established by the department pursuant to Section 8583.
SEC. 4.Section 8561.5 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8561.5.(a)Notwithstanding Section 8102, a permit issued pursuant to Section 8561 may be transferred by the permittee only if one of the following conditions is met:
(1)The permittee has held the permit for three or more years.
(2)The permittee is permanently injured or suffers a serious illness that will result in a hardship, as determined in a written finding by the director, to the permittee or his or her family if the permit may not otherwise be transferred or upon dissolution of a marriage where the permit is held to be community property.
(3)The permittee has died and his or her surviving spouse, heirs, or estate seeks to transfer the permit within six months of the death of the permittee or, with the written approval of the director, within the length of time that it may reasonably take to effect the transfer.
(b)A permit may be transferred only to a person who holds a valid general gill net permit issued to that person pursuant to Section 8681 that has not been suspended or revoked.
(c)The transfer of a permit shall only become effective upon notice from the department. An application for transfer shall be submitted to the department with such reasonable proof as the department may require to establish the qualification of the person the permit is to be transferred to, the payment to the department of a transfer fee of one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500), and a written disclosure, filed under penalty of perjury, of the terms of the transfer.
(d)Any restrictions on participation that were required in a permit transferred pursuant to Section 8102 before January 1, 1990, are of no further force or effect.
(e)This section shall become inoperative on March 31, 2019, and, as of January 1, 2020, is repealed.
SEC. 5.Section 8561.5 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:8561.5.(a)Notwithstanding Section 8102 or any other law, a permit issued pursuant to Section 8561 may only be transferred by the permittee to an entity engaged in retiring permits.
(b)This section shall become operative on March 31, 2019.
SEC. 6.Section 8567 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8567.(a)The fee for a drift gill net shark and swordfish permit that expires on March 31, 2019, shall be three hundred thirty dollars ($330). four hundred eighty-two dollars and seventy-five cents ($482.75).
(b)The fee for a drift gill net shark and swordfish permit that is valid for the license year beginning April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020, inclusive, shall be one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500).
(c)The fee for a drift gill net shark and swordfish permit that is valid in any license year beginning on or after April 1, 2020, shall be three thousand dollars ($3,000), as adjusted pursuant to Section 713.
SEC. 7.Section 8578 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:8578.(a)From April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2025, inclusive, the department shall require, as a condition of receiving a permit pursuant to Section 8561, every permittee to have an observer on board his or her vessel on each trip in which the permittee uses a drift gill net.
(b)On or before January 1, 2020, the department shall adopt hard caps, which shall be effective from April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2025, inclusive, for bycatch consistent with the preferred alternative for the California large mesh drift gill net fishery adopted by the Pacific Fishery Management Council in September 2015. Notwithstanding Section 8577, if the department determines that a hard cap for any species is reached in any given two-year period, the department shall immediately close the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery for the remainder of that period.
(c)The department shall evaluate bycatch data gathered from observers and determine by April 1, 2025, whether the continued use of observers and hard caps is warranted in order to protect marine life species caught as bycatch in the fishery. If the department determines that the continued use of observers and hard caps is warranted, the department shall adopt regulations to be effective beginning April 1, 2025, to require the continued use of observers and hard caps in the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery with any adjustments the department deems necessary to protect marine life species caught as bycatch in the fishery.
(d)For purposes of this section, hard cap means the total maximum number of any marine life species allowed to be injured or killed in a drift gill net before closure of the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery.
SEC. 8.Section 8579 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:8579.(a)A permittee shall be subject to the provisions of this article whenever the permittee is using a drift gill net, unless the permittee has surrendered his or her permit to the department. A
(b)(1)A permittee may surrender his or her permit by notifying the departments Long Beach office of his or her intentions by telegram or certified letter and by sending or delivering his or her permit to a department office. A
(2)A permittee may reclaim his or her permit surrendered pursuant to paragraph (1) at any time during regular working hours, if the permit has not been suspended or revoked.
(c)Paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) does not apply to any permit surrendered pursuant to Section 8583.
SEC. 9.Section 8583 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:8583.(a)Between January 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020, inclusive, the department shall develop a program to buy back permits issued pursuant to Section 8561 that includes the following conditions:
(1)The department shall conduct a reverse sealed bid auction for permittees who have landed swordfish or thresher shark on or after April 1, 2012. Each qualifying permittee who volunteers to participate shall submit an irrevocable bid. The department shall purchase permits starting with lowest bids until 75 percent of available funds are expended.
(2)Permittees who have landed swordfish or thresher shark on or after April 1, 2007, but not on or after April 1, 2012, and who volunteer to participate in the buyback program shall be compensated three times the five-year average of the value of the permittees swordfish and thresher shark landings from April 1, 2007, to March 31, 2012, or ____ dollars ($____), whichever is larger.
(3)Permittees who have not landed swordfish or thresher shark since April 1, 2007, and who volunteer to participate in the buyback program shall receive ____ dollars ($____).
(4)Any permittee who participates in the buyback program shall be prohibited from obtaining a new California drift gill net permit, shall agree not to fish under a federal drift gillnet permit, shall agree not to transfer or renew a federal drift gillnet permit, and shall surrender his or her large mesh drift gill net.
(b)The department shall implement the buyback program developed pursuant to subdivision (a) upon appropriation by the Legislature of private or federal funding received by the department for the purposes of implementing the buyback program. The department shall inform both budget committees and all policy committees with jurisdiction over fisheries issues once it has received funding equal to one-third of the projected cost of the buyback program.
SEC. 10.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB 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 XIIIB of the California Constitution.
SECTION 1.Section 7057 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:7057.For purposes of this division, observer means an independent specialist who serves aboard a commercial fishing vessel for the purpose of monitoring catch and bycatch.For purposes of this division, observer means an independent specialist who serves aboard a commercial fishing vessel for the purpose of monitoring catch and bycatch.
|
Date
|
Status
|
|---|---|
| Sep 27, 2018 | Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 844, Statutes of 2018. |
| Sep 27, 2018 | Approved by the Governor. |
| Sep 10, 2018 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m. |
| Aug 30, 2018 | Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 36. Noes 1.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling. |
| Aug 29, 2018 | In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending. |
| Aug 29, 2018 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. |
| Aug 24, 2018 | Ordered to third reading. |
| Aug 21, 2018 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| Aug 20, 2018 | Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading. |
| Aug 16, 2018 | From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 12. Noes 0.) (August 16). |
| Aug 8, 2018 | August 8 set for first hearing. Placed on suspense file. |
| Jun 26, 2018 | Coauthors revised. |
| Jun 19, 2018 | From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on W.,P., & W. |
| Jun 7, 2018 | Referred to Com. on W.,P., & W. |
| May 31, 2018 | In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk. |
| May 30, 2018 | Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 29. Noes 0.) Ordered to the Assembly. |
| May 29, 2018 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| May 25, 2018 | From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 5. Noes 2.) (May 25). |
| May 18, 2018 | Set for hearing May 25. |
| May 14, 2018 | May 14 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file. |
| May 4, 2018 | Set for hearing May 14. |
| Apr 30, 2018 | Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Apr 26, 2018 | From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 2.) (April 24). |
| Mar 29, 2018 | Set for hearing April 24. |
| Mar 21, 2018 | From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on N.R. & W. |
| Mar 5, 2018 | March 13 set for first hearing canceled at the request of author. |
| Feb 23, 2018 | Set for hearing March 13. |
| Feb 14, 2018 | Referred to Com. on N.R. & W. |
| Feb 8, 2018 | From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 10. |
| Feb 7, 2018 | Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print. |
|
Date
|
Description
|
Location
|
Votes
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 30, 2018 | Unfinished Business SB1017 Allen et al. Concurrence | Senate Floor |
Passed |
|
| Aug 29, 2018 | SB 1017 Allen Senate Third Reading By GLORIA | Assembly Floor |
Passed |
|
| Aug 16, 2018 | Do pass as amended. | Assembly Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Jun 26, 2018 | Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] | Assembly Standing Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife |
Passed |
|
| May 30, 2018 | Senate 3rd Reading SB1017 Allen et al. | Senate Floor |
Passed |
|
| May 25, 2018 | Do pass as amended | Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| May 14, 2018 | Placed on suspense file | Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Apr 24, 2018 | Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Appropriations] | Senate Standing Committee on Natural Resources and Water |
Passed |
This list shows positions taken on this bill by organizations on the date displayed, which is linked to the original source.
Positions by individuals are not included.
|
Organization
|
Position
|
Date
|
|---|---|---|
| 2 Commercial Fishermen | ** Against | Jun 22, 2018 |
| 3Blindmice | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| 4 Commercial Fishermen | ** Against | Apr 19, 2018 |
| 5 Commercial Fishermen | ** Against | Aug 30, 2018 |
| 5 Gyres Science To Solutions | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Aa Worms | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Advanced Micro Systems | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Aguadrone, Llc | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| All Fish Wear | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Alliance for Sustainable Fisheries | * Against | Apr 24, 2018 |
| Alliance of Communities for Sustainable Fisheries | ** Against | Aug 30, 2018 |
| American Cetacean Society | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| American Cetacean Society - Sf Bay Chapter | ** Support | Jun 22, 2018 |
| American Cetacean Society SF Bay Chapter | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| American Fishing Tackle Company | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| American Planning Association, California Chapter | ** Support | Jun 22, 2018 |
| American Sportfishing Association | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Anderson Seafoods | ** Against | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Anderson Seafoods, Inc. | ** Against | Jun 22, 2018 |
| Animal Legal Defense Fund | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Asian Pacific Ocean Harmony Alliance | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Azul | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Baja Fish Gear | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Baja Fishing Convoys | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Balboa Angling Club | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Banzai Jerky | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Bd Outdoors, Llc | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Benedict Enterprises, Llc | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Best Interest Financial Group | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Better Fishtrap | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Big Bite Enterprises | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Billfish Foundation, The | ** Support | Jun 22, 2018 |
| Blue Wave Jewelry | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| BlueVoice.org | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Bluewater Bait Systems | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Boatus | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Bob Rees' Guide Service | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Bob Sands Fishing Tackle, Inc. | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Bob'S Dive Shop | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Bomboy Fishing Lures | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Bon Appetit | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Border Grill | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Bungalow Bay Co | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| California Association Of Professional Scientists | ** Support | Jun 22, 2018 |
| California Association Of Zoos And Aquariums | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| California Coastal Protection Network | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| California Coastkeeper Alliance | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| California Fish and Game Commission | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| California Fisheries And Seafood Institute | ** Against | Aug 30, 2018 |
| California Releaf | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| California Sportfishing League | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Cancun Vacations | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Catalina Offshore Products | ** Against | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Center For Biological Diversity | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Center for Oceanic Awareness, Research, & Education | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Center For Sportfishing Policy | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Ch Projects | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Chark Bait | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Clean Water Action | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Cleaning Services | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Coastal Conservation Association Of California | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Coastside Fishing Club | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara | ** Against | Aug 30, 2018 |
| congressional sportsmen's foundation | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Convict Lake Resort | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Cousins Tackle | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Cowbuoy Sportfishing | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Crown Prince, Inc. | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Daiwa Corporation | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Dana Angling Club | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Dana Wharf Sportfishing And Whale Watching | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Deep Blue Scuba & Swim Center | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Defenders Of Wildlife | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Dixon Enterprises | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Double G Guide Service | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Duncanby Lodge | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Dymek'S Freedom Plumbing | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Ecology Allliance | ** Support | May 29, 2018 |
| Edible Seattle | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Encinitas Arts Culture & Ecology Alliance | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Endangered Habitats League | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Entertainment 3Sixty | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Environment California | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Environmental Action Committee of West Marin | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Environmental Defense Center | ** Support | May 29, 2018 |
| Fia Insurance Services Inc | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Fight Club Guided Fishing | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Fin & Field | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| First Choice Coatings | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Fish Heads Bait, Tackle And Dive | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Fisherman'S Access | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Fishology Alaska | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Florida Keys Drive Center | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Fog Studios | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Fosmark Fisheries, Llc | ** Against | Jun 22, 2018 |
| Fps Consulting | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Fred Hall Shows, Inc. | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Freedom Boat Club- Parker Boats | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Friends Of The Earth | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Gavin Newsom, California Lieutenant Governor | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Get Some Sports | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Ghost Fishing | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Gmc Sports | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Graig Consultants, Inc. | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Greenpeace Usa | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Gue Ccr Instructor Hollywood Divers | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Halco Tackle Company | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Harbor Boat Rentals | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Harbor Drive Center | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Harney Sushi | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Heal The Bay | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Heirs To Our Oceans | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Heirs to Our Oceans | * Support | Apr 24, 2018 |
| Herself | * Support | Apr 24, 2018 |
| Hobie Cat Company | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Hollywood Divers | ** Support | Jun 22, 2018 |
| Hooked On Mendo | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Hott Stuff Sports | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Human Society Of The United States, The | ** Support | Jun 22, 2018 |
| Humboldt Area Saltwater Anglers, Inc. | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| International Bird Rescue | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| International Game Fish Association | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| International Game Fish Association, Inc. | ** Support | Jun 22, 2018 |
| Jen Wren Sportfishing | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Jenness Ocean Wear | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Jessica Pratt, Assistant Professor, University Of California, Irvine | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Karim Hamza Owner, Gue Tech2 | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Katmai Lodge- Alaska | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Keli'S Ocean Sports | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Ketcham Tackle | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Laguna Niguel Billfish Club | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Leisure Sales | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Let'S Talk Hookup | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Letters | ** Support | May 29, 2018 |
| Little Stone Flyfisher | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Loaf And Fish Restaurant, San Diego | ** Against | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Los Angeles Underwater Explorers | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Lush Cosmetics | * Support | Apr 24, 2018 |
| Marine Animal Rescue | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Marine Conservation Institute | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Marine Mammal Center | ** Support | Jun 22, 2018 |
| Marine Retailers Association Of The Americas | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Maritime Alliance, The | ** Against | Jun 22, 2018 |
| Marshall Madruga Brands | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Mazur Enterprises | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Mercy for Animals | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Michael'S Guide Service | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Miss Vic Sportfishing | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Monterey Fish Market | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Mpms, Inc. | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| National Marine Manufacturers Association | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| National Professional Anglers Association | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Native Animal Rescue | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Nautilus Reels | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| New Fishall Bait Co | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Nonhuman Rights Project | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Northwind Charters | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Ocean Connectors | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Ocean Defenders Alliance | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Ocean Society Berkeley | ** Support | Apr 19, 2018 |
| Ocean Society Of Berkeley | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Oceana | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Ofboutdoors | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Offshore Blue Adventures | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Okuma Fishing Tackle | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Oregon River Trails Outfitters | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Oscpt | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Pacific Coast Sportfishing Magazine | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Pacific Environment | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Pacific Marine Mammal Center | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Pacific Properties Service | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Pacific Recreational Products | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Paradise Guide Service | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Parent | * Support | Apr 24, 2018 |
| Patagonia | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Peace4Animals | * Support | Apr 24, 2018 |
| Pelagic | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Performance Tackle | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Pew Charitable Trust | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Pew Charitable Trusts | ** Support | May 29, 2018 |
| Pew Charitable Trusts, The | ** Support | Jun 22, 2018 |
| Pew Charitable Trusts; The | * Support | Apr 24, 2018 |
| Pfleger Institute Of Environmental Research | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Phenix Rods | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Picante Sportfishing | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Pier 23 Cafe Restaurant & Bar | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Pike Restaurant | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Plastic Pollution Coalition | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Poseidon On The Beach Restaurant | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Poulson Cascade Tackle, Llc | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Pro Scuba Dive Center | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Pro Towers | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Pro-Cure | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Public Interest Coalition | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Qualia Reels | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Recreation Fishing Alliance | ** Support | Jun 22, 2018 |
| Recreational Fishing Alliance | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Reel Steel Sportfishing | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Reliable Fishing Products | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Richard D Ross Construction Inc | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Rinsekit | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Robert Ruder, M.D. | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Royal Polaris | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Salmon Catcher Lodge | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Salmon King Lodge | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Salt Water Bass Anglers | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Samuels And Son Seafood | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| San Diego Coastkeeper | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| San Diego Fisherman's Working Group | * Against | Apr 24, 2018 |
| San Diego Fishermen's Working Group | ** Against | Aug 30, 2018 |
| San Diego Humane Society | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| San Diego Tackle Traders | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| San Francisco Spca | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Santa Monica Seafood | ** Against | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Santa Monica Windjammers Yacht Club | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Save Our Shores | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Save The Turtles, Inc. | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Save The Whales | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Scent Blazer Lures | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Scuba Diving Resource | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Scuba World | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Sd Expeditions | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Sea Legacy | * Support | Apr 24, 2018 |
| Sea Tow Newport Beach | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Seachange Agency | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Seaguide | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Sealegacy | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Seasons Sportfishing | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Seaworld Parks & Entertainment | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Seventh Generation Advisors | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Several Hundred Emails | ** Support | May 29, 2018 |
| Shannon Rose Sportfishing | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Shimano American Corporation | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Sierra Club California | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Sky'S Guide Service | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Snook & Gamefish Foundation | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Socalreels | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Socalreels- Pulliam Enterprise | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Social Compassion In Legislation | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Somis Investments | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Sos Marine | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Speakes For Diving | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Spear America | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Sportfishing Financial | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Sportsmens Seafood | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Steele'S Discount Scuba | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Steve Huber Guide Service | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Sunrize Tackle, Inc. | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Surfrider Foundation | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Tackle Warehouse | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| The Billfish Foundation | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| The Boardroom Charters | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| The Humane Society of the United States | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| The Marine Mammal Center | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| The Maritime Alliance | ** Support | May 29, 2018 |
| The Otter Project | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| The Quickline System | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| The Rusty Hook | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| The Trust For Public Land | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| The Wildlands Conservancy | * Support | Apr 24, 2018 |
| Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Think Food Group | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Three Boys In San Diego | ** Against | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Thresher Boats | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Tibor Reels | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Tom Posey Co | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Toro Tamer | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Total Fisherman Guide Service | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Tow Boat Us & Vessel Assist | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Trust for Public Land | ** Support | May 29, 2018 |
| Tuna Club Of Avalon | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Turtle Island Restoration Network | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Upstream Policy | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Upstream Policy | * Support | Apr 24, 2018 |
| West Coast Trailers | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| West Marine | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Western Fishing Adventures, Ltd. | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Western Outdoor News | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Westernbass | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Whale and Dolphin Conservation | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Whopper Stoppers | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Wild Oceans | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| WildAid | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Wildcoast | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Winter Ad Agency | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Wishtoyo Chumash Foundation | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| World Animal News | * Support | Apr 24, 2018 |
| Yamaha | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
| Yes Bay Lodge Alaska | ** Support | Aug 30, 2018 |
Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) 327-4478 | SB |
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1017
:
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 7-2, 4/24/18
AYES: Hertzberg, Allen, Hueso, Jackson, McGuire, Monning, Stern
NOES: Stone, Vidak
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 5/25/18
AYES: Lara, Beall, Bradford, Hill, Wiener
NOES: Bates, Nielsen
SENATE FLOOR: 33-0, 5/30/18
AYES: Allen, Anderson, Atkins, Beall, Berryhill, Bradford, Cannella, De León, Dodd, Gaines, Galgiani, Glazer, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Jackson, Lara, Leyva, McGuire, Mitchell, Monning, Moorlach, Morrell, Newman, Pan, Portantino, Roth, Skinner, Stern, Wieckowski, Wiener, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bates, Fuller, Nguyen, Nielsen, Stone, Vidak
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 8/29/18 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Commercial fishing: drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery: permit transition program
DIGEST:
This bill requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) to develop a program by March 31, 2020, to voluntarily transition the holders of drift gill net (DGN) permits out of the DGN fishery.
Assembly Amendments
establish a funding formula for the voluntary buy-out of drift gill net permits, establish the price that may be paid for the surrender of these permits, prohibit the transfer of drift gill net permits, allows the use of longer lines for the deep-set buoy gear alternative to drift gill nets, and make other technical changes.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
- Prohibits the taking of fish for commercial purposes without a commercial fishing license issued by the DFW. (FGC Section 7850 (a))
- Prohibits the taking of shark and swordfish for commercial purposes with DGN except under a valid DGN shark and swordfish permit. (FGC Section 8561 (a))
- Authorizes the Director of the DFW to close and open the DGN shark and swordfish fishery, as prescribed. (FGC Section 8577)
- Authorizes the transfer of a DGN permit under certain circumstances. (FGC Section 8561.5)
- Makes the violation of fishing regulations a crime. (FGC Section 12002)
- Establishes a swordfish permit that authorizes the take, possession, and landing of swordfish for commercial purposes using specified methods but not including DGNs. Exempts the holder of a DGN permit from the payment of the swordfish permit fee. (FGC Section 8567)
- Establishes the fee for a DGN permit as $330. (FGC Section 8567)
- Makes it unlawful to use fishing lines more than 900 feet in length unless they are used as set lines, as specified. (FGC Section 9028)
- Establishes the OPC and allows the OPC to award grants; enter into interagency agreements; and provide assistance to public agencies and nonprofit organizations in order to support efforts to coordinate the activities of state agencies with ocean or coastal management interests or regulatory authority, to improve the effectiveness of state efforts to protect ocean resources, and to establish policies to coordinate the collection and sharing of scientific data related to coastal and ocean resources. (Public Resource Code Section 35621)
This bill:
- Requires the DFW to develop a program, as prescribed, by March 31, 2020, to voluntarily transition the holders of DGN permits out of the DGN fishery.
- Requires a permittee that intends to participate in the transition program to indicate his or her intention to the DFW on or before January 1, 2020, and defines the procedure for notifying the DFW.
- Requires the DFW to inform a permittee who submits a notification of their intent to participate as to whether the permittee meets the requirements of the transition program, as specified.
- Requires the Ocean Protection Council (OPC) to use $1 million to fund the transition program from an appropriation made to the OPC in the Budget Act of 2018 (Item 0540-101-0001) for whale and sea turtle entanglement.
- Authorizes the DFW to enter into an agreement with a fiscal agent, as defined, and allows the fiscal agent to receive state and non-state funds for purposes of the transition program and, upon receipt of adequate funds, to make required payments to participating permittees.
- Requires the fiscal agent to notify the DFW within 10 days of the receipt of $1 million from non-state sources for purposes of transitioning permittees out of the DGN fishery.
- Requires the DFW to notify the Legislature within 10 days of the date that the fiscal agent receives a total of $2 million – $1 million from non-state sources and $1 million through an agreement with the OPC.
- Prohibits the transfer of a DGN permit as of March 31, 2019, and requires all DGN permits issued pursuant to the Fish and Game Code (FGC) to be surrendered or revoked as of January 31 of the fourth year following the DFW's notification to the Legislature that the fiscal agent has received a total of $2 million.
- Exempts deep-set buoy gear from the prohibition on fishing lines more than 900 feet in length if those lines are used as part of deep-set buoy gear authorized under federal law.
- Provides that the provisions dealing with the DGN shark and swordfish fishery do not create or recognize a property right in fish expected to be caught using a DGN permit.
- Exempts any person who participates in the permit transition program from payment of the fee for a swordfish permit.
- Makes findings and declarations regarding DGNs, their impact on non-target species, and potential lower impact fishing gear for catching swordfish.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, the DFW estimates increased costs of approximately $520,000 during the first year to establish and implement the transition program (General Fund or special funds). In addition, the DFW estimates it will require $3.6 million to achieve the buyout from the holders of DGN permits (various sources of public and private funds).
SUPPORT: (Verified 8/29/18)
Gavin Newsom, California Lieutenant Governor
3blindmice
5 Gyres Science to Solutions
AA Worms
Advanced Micro Systems
Aguadrone, LLC
All Fish Wear
American Cetacean Society
American Cetacean Society SF Bay Chapter
American Fishing Tackle Company
American Sportfishing Association
Animal Legal Defense Fund
Asian Pacific Ocean Harmony Alliance
Azul
Baja Fish Gear
Baja Fishing Convoys
Balboa Angling Club
Banzai Jerky
BD Outdoors, LLC
Benedict Enterprises, LLC
Best Interest Financial Group
Better Fishtrap/ The Quickline System
Big Bite Enterprises
Blue Wave Jewelry
BlueVoice.org
Bluewater Bait Systems
BoatUS
Bob Rees’ Guide Service
Bob Sands Fishing Tackle, Inc.
Bob’s Dive Shop
Bomboy Fishing Lures
Bon Appetit
Border Grill
Bungalow Bay Co
California Association of Zoos and Aquariums
California Coastal Protection Network
California Coastkeeper Alliance
California Fish and Game Commission
California ReLeaf
California Sportfishing League
Cancun Vacations
Center for Biological Diversity
Center for Oceanic Awareness, Research, & Education
Center for Sportfishing Policy
Chark Bait
CH Projects
Clean Water Action
Cleaning Services
Coastal Conservation Association of California
Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation
Coastside Fishing Club
Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation
Convict Lake Resort
Cousins Tackle
Cowbuoy Sportfishing
Crown Prince, Inc.
Daiwa Corporation
Dana Angling Club
Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching
Deep Blue Scuba & Swim Center
Defenders of Wildlife
Desert Oasis Health Care
Dixon Enterprises
Double G Guide Service
Duncanby Lodge
Dymek’s Freedom Plumbing
Edible Seattle
Encinitas Arts Culture & Ecology Alliance
Endangered Habitats League
Entertainment 3Sixty
Environment California
Environmental Action Committee of West Marin
FIA Insurance Services Inc
Fight Club Guided Fishing
Fin & Field
First Choice Coatings
Fish Heads Bait, Tackle and Dive
Fisherman’s Access
Fishology Alaska
Florida Keys Drive Center
FOG Studios
FPS Consulting
Fred Hall Shows, Inc.
Freedom Boat Club- Parker Boats
Friends of the Earth
Get Some Sports
Ghost Fishing
GMC Sports
Graig Consultants, Inc.
Greenpeace USA
Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation
Halco Tackle Company
Harbor Boat Rentals
Harbor Drive Center
Harney Sushi
Heal the Bay
Heirs to Our Oceans
Hobie Cat Company
Hooked on Mendo
Hott Stuff Sports
Humboldt Area Saltwater Anglers, Inc.
International Bird Rescue
International Game Fish Association
Jenness Ocean Wear
Jen Wren Sportfishing
Jessica Pratt, Assistant Professor, University of California, Irvine
Karim Hamza Owner, GUE Tech2/ GUE CCR instructor Hollywood Divers
Katmai Lodge- Alaska
Keli’s Ocean Sports
Ketcham Tackle
Laguna Niguel Billfish Club
Leisure Sales
Let’s Talk Hookup
Little Stone Flyfisher
Los Angeles Underwater Explorers
Marine Animal Rescue
Marine Conservation Institute
Marine Retailers Association of the Americas
Marshall Madruga Brands
Mazur Enterprises
Mercy For Animals
Michael’s Guide Service
Miss Vic Sportfishing
Monterey Fish Market
MPMS, Inc.
National Marine Manufacturers Association
National Professional Anglers Association
Native Animal Rescue
Nautilus Reels
New Fishall Bait Co
Nonhuman Rights Project
Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association
Northwind Charters
Oceana
Ocean Connectors
Ocean Defenders Alliance
Ocean Society of Berkeley
OFBoutdoors
Offshore Blue Adventures
Okuma Fishing Tackle
Oregon River Trails Outfitters
OSCPT
Pacific Coast Sportfishing Magazine
Pacific Environment
Pacific Marine Mammal Center
Pacific Properties Service
Pacific Recreational Products
Patagonia
Paradise Guide Service
Pelagic
Performance Tackle
Pew Charitable Trust
Pfleger Institute of Environmental Research
Phenix Rods
Picante Sportfishing
Pier 23 Café Restaurant & Bar
Pike Restaurant
Plastic Pollution Coalition
Poseidon on the Beach Restaurant
Poulson Cascade Tackle, LLC
Pro Scuba Dive Center
Pro Towers
Pro-Cure
Public Interest Coalition
Qualia Reels
Recreational Fishing Alliance
Reel Steel Sportfishing
Reliable Fishing Products
Richard D Ross Construction Inc
RinseKit
Robert Ruder, M.D.
Royal Polaris
Salmon Catcher Lodge
Salmon King Lodge
Salt Water Bass Anglers
Samuels and Son Seafood
San Diego Coastkeeper
San Diego Humane Society
San Diego Tackle Traders
San Francisco SPCA
Santa Monica Windjammers Yacht Club
Save Our Shores
Save the Turtles, Inc.
Save the Whales
Scent Blazer Lures
Scuba Diving Resource
Scuba World
SD Expeditions
Sea Tow Newport Beach/LA
SeaChange Agency
SeaGuide
SeaLegacy
Seasons Sportfishing
SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment
Seventh Generation Advisors
Shannon Rose Sportfishing
Shimano American Corporation
Sierra Club California
Sky’s Guide Service
Snook & Gamefish Foundation
SoCalReels
SoCalReels- Pulliam Enterprise
Social Compassion in Legislation
Somis Investments
SOS Marine
Speakes for Diving
Spear America
Sportfishing Financial
Sportsmens Seafood
Steele’s Discount Scuba
Steve Huber Guide Service
Sunrize Tackle, Inc.
Surfrider Foundation
Tackle Warehouse
The Billfish Foundation
The Boardroom Charters
The Humane Society of the United States
The Marine Mammal Center
The Otter Project
The Rusty Hook
The Trust For Public Land
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
Thresher Boats
Think Food Group
Tibor Reels
Tom Posey Co
Toro Tamer
Total Fisherman Guide Service
Tow Boat US & Vessel Assist
Tuna Club of Avalon
Turtle Island Restoration Network
Upstream Policy
West Coast Trailers
West Marine
Western Fishing Adventures, Ltd.
Western Outdoor News
Westernbass
Whale and Dolphin Conservation
Whopper Stoppers
Wild Oceans
WildAid
Wildcoast
Winter Ad Agency
Wishtoyo Chumash Foundation
Yamaha
Yes Bay Lodge Alaska
OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/29/18)
Alliance of Communities for Sustainable Fisheries
Anderson Seafoods
California Fisheries and Seafood Institute
Catalina Offshore Products
Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara
Loaf and Fish Restaurant, San Diego
Santa Monica Seafood
San Diego Fishermen’s Working Group
The Chamber of Commerce of the Santa Barbara Region
Three Boys in San Diego
5 Commercial fishermen
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, California is the last state in the U.S. that allows fishermen to use drift gill nets in the swordfish fishery. This particular gear type has been banned in many locations worldwide because of the impacts on marine wildlife. The author said that according to the latest federal estimates, from 2001-15 California swordfish gill nets were responsible for the death of an estimated 6 Pacific leatherback sea turtles, 4 loggerhead sea turtles, and seven sperm whales. During the same period, the fishery caught over 1,300 marine mammals and threw overboard more than 140,000 fish and sharks.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: Those in opposition argue that the DGN industry is sustainably managed and well regulated. Much of what is caught in DGNs in addition to swordfish is marketable and sold by the fishermen. They think that the bill does not reflect current science on bycatch and is in direct conflict with federal management of the fishery. In addition, the ending of the DGN fishery will result in lost jobs and related impacts on fishing communities and local restaurants. The opposition believes the Pacific Fishery Management Council is the correct venue for discussions of changes to the fishery.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 8/29/18
AYES: Acosta, Aguiar-Curry, Travis Allen, Arambula, Baker, Berman, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonta, Brough, Burke, Caballero, Calderon, Carrillo, Cervantes, Chau, Chávez, Chen, Chiu, Choi, Chu, Cooley, Cunningham, Dahle, Daly, Eggman, Flora, Fong, Frazier, Friedman, Gabriel, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gipson, Gloria, Gonzalez Fletcher, Gray, Grayson, Harper, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Kamlager-Dove, Kiley, Lackey, Levine, Limón, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Patterson, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Reyes, Rivas, Rodriguez, Rubio, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Voepel, Waldron, Weber, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cooper, Obernolte
Prepared by:
8/30/18 10:22:09
**** END ****
8/30/18 10:22:09
SENATE THIRD READING
STR Bill Id:SB 1017
Author:(Allen)
As Amended Ver:August 24, 2018
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 33-0
Committee | Votes | Ayes | Noes |
Water | 10-2 | Eduardo Garcia, Carrillo, Chu, Friedman, Gloria, Kalra, Levine, Rubio, Salas, Wood | Harper, Mathis |
Appropriations | 12-0 | Gonzalez Fletcher, Bloom, Bonta, Calderon, Carrillo, Chau, Eggman, Friedman, Eduardo Garcia, Nazarian, Quirk, Reyes |
|
SUMMARY: Requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) to develop a program by March 31, 2020, to voluntarily transition the holders of drift gill net (DGN) permits out of the DGN fishery. Specifically, this bill:
- Requires the DFW to develop a program, as prescribed, by March 31, 2020, to voluntarily transition the holders of DGN permits out of the DGN fishery.
- Requires a permittee that intends to participate in the transition program to indicate his or her intention to the DFW on or before January 1, 2020, and defines the procedure for notifying the DFW.
- Requires the DFW to inform a permittee who submits a notification of their intent to participate as to whether the permittee meets the requirements of the transition program, as specified.
- Requires the Ocean Protection Council (OPC) to use $1 million to fund the transition program from an appropriation made to the OPC in the Budget Act of 2018 (Item 0540-101-0001) for whale and sea turtle entanglement.
- Authorizes the DFW to enter into an agreement with a fiscal agent, as defined, and allows the fiscal agent to receive state and non-state funds for purposes of the transition program and, upon receipt of adequate funds, to make required payments to participating permittees.
- Requires the fiscal agent to notify the DFW within 10 days of the receipt of $1 million from non-state sources for purposes of transitioning permittees out of the DGN fishery.
- Requires the DFW to notify the Legislature within 10 days of the date that the fiscal agent receives a total of $2 million – $1 million from non-state sources and $1 million through an agreement with the OPC.
- Prohibits the transfer of a DGN permit as of March 31, 2019, and requires all DGN permits issued pursuant to the Fish and Game Code (FGC) to be surrendered or revoked as of January 31 of the fourth year following the DFW's notification to the Legislature that the fiscal agent has received a total of $2 million.
- Exempts deep-set buoy gear from the prohibition on fishing lines more than 900 feet in length if those lines are used as part of deep-set buoy gear authorized under federal law.
- Provides that the provisions dealing with the DGN shark and swordfish fishery do not create or recognize a property right in fish expected to be caught using a DGN permit.
- Exempts any person who participates in the permit transition program from payment of the fee for a swordfish permit.
- Makes findings and declarations regarding DGNs, their impact on non-target species, and potential lower impact fishing gear for catching swordfish.
EXISTING LAW:
- Prohibits the taking of fish for commercial purposes without a commercial fishing license issued by the DFW. (FGC Section 7850 (a))
- Prohibits the taking of shark and swordfish for commercial purposes with DGN except under a valid DGN shark and swordfish permit. (FGC Section 8561 (a))
- Authorizes the Director of the DFW to close and open the DGN shark and swordfish fishery, as prescribed. (FGC Section 8577)
- Authorizes the transfer of a DGN permit under certain circumstances. (FGC Section 8561.5)
- Makes the violation of fishing regulations a crime. (FGC Section 12002)
- Establishes a swordfish permit that authorizes the take, possession, and landing of swordfish for commercial purposes using specified methods but not including DGNs. Exempts the holder of a DGN permit from the payment of the swordfish permit fee. (FGC Section 8567)
- Establishes the fee for a DGN permit as $330. (FGC Section 8567)
- Makes it unlawful to use fishing lines more than 900 feet in length unless they are used as set lines, as specified. (FGC Section 9028)
- Establishes the OPC and allows the OPC to award grants; enter into interagency agreements; and provide assistance to public agencies and nonprofit organizations in order to support efforts to coordinate the activities of state agencies with ocean or coastal management interests or regulatory authority, to improve the effectiveness of state efforts to protect ocean resources, and to establish policies to coordinate the collection and sharing of scientific data related to coastal and ocean resources. (Public Resource Code Section 35621)
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, the DFW estimates increased costs of approximately $520,000 during the first year to establish and implement the transition program (General Fund or special funds). In addition, the DFW estimates it will require $3.6 million to achieve the buyout from the holders of DGN permits (various sources of public and private funds).
COMMENTS: This bill requires the DFW to develop a program by March 31, 2020, to voluntarily transition the holders of DGN permits out of the DGN fishery.
Background: Drift Gill Net Swordfish Fishery. A gill net is a panel of netting suspended vertically in the water by floats, with weights along the bottom. The longest gill nets in California can be 6,000 feet long, and are typically 10 to 50 feet high. Fishermen vary the mesh size or size of the net holes depending on the size of the species they want to capture. The mesh size or net holes are designed to be large enough for the head of the fish to pass through it, but not its body. As a result, when fish swim into the net they are entangled by their gills.
Gill nets are designed to catch a specific size range of fish, but are not species specific. They often entangle many fish that fishermen are not trying to catch. They also frequently entangle large ocean animals, including whales, seals, sea turtles, seabirds, and sharks. This is known as bycatch. Many consider gill nets to have the highest bycatch impacts on marine mammals, sea turtles, seabirds, and sharks of any fishing gear.
Both participation and fishing effort (measured by the number of sets) in California's drift swordfish fishery have declined over the years. According to the DFW, 71 DGN permits and 42 harpoon permits were issued in 2015. The DFW considers 26 fishermen to be active DGN fishers, and five harpoon fishermen are also considered to be active. The remaining permits are considered latent and as such could be utilized in the future.
In 1994, California eliminated new entrants into the fishery except by permit transfer. In 2017, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service established a federal limited entry DGN permit, which was implemented over the objection of the DFW. Beginning with the 2018-19 season, this permit will be required to fish in federal waters with DGN gear. The implementation of a federal permit program did not repeal state permit requirements. As a result, California remains a co-manager of the fishery.
Transition Program. This bill requires the DFW to develop a transition program for the holders of DGN permits. For permittees that have landed swordfish or thresher shark between April 1, 2012, and March 31, 2018, and who voluntarily surrender their permit, the DFW will pay $10,000, plus $100,000 for a drift gill net or nets. For permittees that have not landed swordfish or thresher shark since April 1, 2012, and who voluntarily surrender their permit, the DFW will pay $10,000 for the permit. Anyone participating in the transition program is prohibited from obtaining a new California DGN permit, agrees not to transfer or renew a federal DGN permit, and must surrender their large mesh drift gill nets.
Analysis Prepared by: Keith Cialino / W., P., & W. / (916) 319-2096 FN: 0004757
SENATE THIRD READING
STR Bill Id:SB 1017
Author:(Allen)
As Amended Ver:August 20, 2018
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 33-0
Committee | Votes | Ayes | Noes |
Water | 10-2 | Eduardo Garcia, Carrillo, Chu, Friedman, Gloria, Kalra, Levine, Rubio, Salas, Wood | Harper, Mathis |
Appropriations | 12-0 | Gonzalez Fletcher, Bloom, Bonta, Calderon, Carrillo, Chau, Eggman, Friedman, Eduardo Garcia, Nazarian, Quirk, Reyes |
|
SUBJECT: Commercial fishing: drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery
SUMMARY: Requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) to develop a program by March 31, 2020, to voluntarily transition the holders of drift gill net (DGN) permits out of the DGN fishery by January 31, 2023, the end of the 2023 fishing season. Specifically, this bill:
- Requires the DFW to develop a program, as prescribed, by March 31, 2020, to voluntarily transition the holders of DGN permits out of the DGN fishery, and to implement the program upon appropriation by the Legislature of state funds and private or federal funds received by the DFW for this purpose.
- Requires a DGN permit issued pursuant to these provisions to be surrendered or revoked as of January 31, 2023.
- Provides that the provisions dealing with the DGN shark and swordfish fishery do not create or recognize a property right in fish expected to be caught using a DGN permit.
- Exempts any person who participates in the permit transition program from payment of the fee for a swordfish permit.
- Makes findings and declarations regarding DGNs, their impact on non-target species, and potential lower impact fishing gear for catching swordfish.
EXISTING LAW:
- Prohibits the taking of fish for commercial purposes without a commercial fishing license issued by the DFW. (Fish and Game Code Section (FGC) 7850 (a))
- Prohibits the taking of shark and swordfish for commercial purposes with DGN except under a valid DGN shark and swordfish permit. (FGC 8561 (a))
- Authorizes the Director of the DFW to close and open the DGN shark and swordfish fishery, as prescribed. (FGC 8577)
- Authorizes the transfer of a DGN permit under certain circumstances. (FGC 8561.5)
- Makes the violation of fishing regulations a crime. (FGC 12002)
- Establishes a swordfish permit that authorizes the take, possession, and landing of swordfish for commercial purposes using specified methods but not including DGNs. Exempts the holder of a DGN permit from the payment of the swordfish permit fee. (FGC 8567)
- Establishes the fee for a DGN permit as $330. (FGC 8567)
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee,
- DFW estimates it will require $3.6 million to achieve the buyout from the holders of DGN permits (various sources of public and private funds).
- DFW estimates increased costs of approximately $520,000 during the first year to establish and implement the transition program, which must be started by January 1, 2019 and concluded March 31, 2020 (General Fund or special funds).
The DFW estimates increased costs of approximately $520,000 during the first year to establish and implement the transition program (General Fund or special funds). In addition, the DFW estimates it will require $3.6 million to achieve the buyout from the holders of DGN permits (various sources of public and private funds).
COMMENTS: This bill requires the DFW to develop a program by March 31, 2020, to voluntarily transition the holders of DGN permits out of the DGN fishery by the end of the 2023 fishing season.
Background: Drift Gill Net Swordfish Fishery. A gill net is a panel of netting suspended vertically in the water by floats, with weights along the bottom. The longest gill nets in California can be 6,000 feet long, and are typically 10 to 50 feet high. Fishermen vary the mesh size or size of the net holes depending on the size of the species they want to capture. The mesh size or net holes are designed to be large enough for the head of the fish to pass through it, but not its body. As a result, when fish swim into the net they are entangled by their gills.
Gill nets are designed to catch a specific size range of fish, but are not species specific. They often entangle many fish that fishermen are not trying to catch. They also frequently entangle large ocean animals, including whales, seals, sea turtles, seabirds, and sharks. This is known as bycatch. Many consider gill nets to have the highest bycatch impacts on marine mammals, sea turtles, seabirds, and sharks of any fishing gear.
Both participation and fishing effort (measured by the number of sets) in California’s drift swordfish fishery have declined over the years. According to the DFW, 71 DGN permits and 42 harpoon permits were issued in 2015. The DFW considers 26 fishermen to be active DGN fishers, and five harpoon fishermen are also considered to be active. The remaining permits are considered latent and as such could be utilized in the future.
In 1994, California eliminated new entrants into the fishery except by permit transfer. In 2017, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service established a federal limited entry DGN permit, which was implemented over the objection of the DFW. Beginning with the 2018-19 season, this permit will be required to fish in federal waters with DGN gear. The implementation of a federal permit program did not repeal state permit requirements. As a result, California remains a co-manager of the fishery.
Transition Program. This bill requires the DFW to develop a transition program for the holders of DGN permits. For permittees that have landed swordfish or thresher shark between April 1, 2012, and March 31, 2018, and who voluntarily surrender their permit, the DFW will pay the fair market value of the DGN permit, not to exceed $10,000, plus the fair market value of a drift gill net not to exceed $100,000. For permittees that have not landed swordfish or thresher shark since April 1, 2012, and who voluntarily surrender their permit, the DFW will pay only the fair market value of the DGN permit, not to exceed $10,000. Anyone participating in the transition program is prohibited from obtaining a new California DGN permit, agrees not to transfer or renew a federal DGN permit, and must surrender their large mesh drift gill net.
Analysis Prepared by: Keith Cialino / W., P., & W. / (916) 319-2096 FN: 0004168
Date of Hearing: August 8, 2018
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, Chair
SBPCA Bill Id:SB 1017
Author:(Allen) – As Amended Ver:June 19, 2018
Policy Committee: | Water, Parks and Wildlife | Vote: | 10 - 2 |
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| ||
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) to develop a program by March 31, 2020, to voluntarily transition the holders of drift gill net (DGN) permits out of the DGN fishery by January 31, 2023. Specifically, this bill:
- Requires DFG to implement the voluntary transition program upon appropriation from the Legislature of private or federal funding for this purpose and requires DFW to undertake all reasonable efforts to obtain funding from the Ocean Protection Council, nonprofit organizations, and federal agencies, as specified.
- Requires a DGN permit issued pursuant to these provisions to be surrendered or revoked as of January 31, 2023.
- Provides provisions regarding DGN shark and swordfish fisheries do not create or recognize a property right in fish expected to be caught using a DGN permit.
- Exempts any person who participates in the permit transition program from payment of the fee for a swordfish permit.
FISCAL EFFECT:
- DFW estimates it will require $2.5 million to achieve the buyout from the holders of DGN permits (various sources of public and private funds).
- DFW estimates increased costs of approximately $520,000 during the first year to establish and implement the transition program, which must be started by January 1, 2019, and concluded March 31, 2020 (GF or special funds).
COMMENTS:
- Purpose. The purpose of this bill is to incentivize California’s swordfish fishing industry to transition away from harmful drift gillnets to more sustainable gear types, such as deep-set buoy systems, by establishing a program to buy back state DGN permits with public and private funds. This bill creates incentives for fishermen and fisherwomen to take part in the program by giving buyback participants a free lifetime swordfish permit and sunsetting the DGN fishery in 2023.
- Transition Program. This bill requires DFW to develop a transition program for the holders of DGN permits. For permittees that have landed swordfish or thresher shark between April 1, 2012, and March 31, 2018, and who voluntary surrender their permit, DFW will pay the fair market value of the permit, not to exceed $10,000, plus the fair market value of a drift gill net not to exceed $65,000. For permittees that have not landed swordfish or thresher shark since April 1, 2012, and who voluntary surrender their permit, DFW will pay only the fair market value of the permit, not to exceed $10,000. Anyone participating in the transition program is prohibited from obtaining a new California drift gill net permit, agrees not to transfer or renew a federal drift gill net permit, and must surrender their large mesh drift gill net.
The author may wish to consider amendments that begin the transition program upon receipt of funds sufficient to cover the costs of the buyout program. Additionally, the author may wish to work with DFW to explore tiered levels of buyout payments based on the levels of fishing activity to more fairly compensate fishermen based on active use of permits.
- Prior Legislation. SB 1114 (Allen) of the 2015- 2016 Legislative Session would have outlined timelines for phasing out DGNs, and authorized DFW to issue deep-set buoy gear or similar gear to take swordfish when that gear is authorized pursuant to federal law. SB 1114 would have established a protocol and incentives for the issuance of the new permits. The bill was held in Senate Appropriations Committee on suspense.
Analysis Prepared by: Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916) 319-2081
Date of Hearing: June 26, 2018
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS, AND WILDLIFE
Eduardo Garcia, Chair
SBPCA Bill Id:SB 1017
Author:(Allen) – As Amended Ver:June 19, 2018
SENATE VOTE: 33-0
SUBJECT: Commercial fishing: drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery
SUMMARY: Requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) to develop a program by March 31, 2020, to voluntarily transition the holders of drift gill net (DGN) permits out of the DGN fishery by January 31, 2023, the end of the 2023 fishing season. Specifically, this bill:
- Requires the DFW to develop a program, as prescribed, by March 31, 2020, to voluntarily transition the holders of DGN permits out of the DGN fishery, and to implement the program upon appropriation from the Legislature of private or federal funding received by the DFW for this purpose.
- Requires a DGN permit issued pursuant to these provisions to be surrendered or revoked as of January 31, 2023.
- Provides that the provisions dealing with the DGN shark and swordfish fishery do not create or recognize a property right in fish expected to be caught using a DGN permit.
- Exempts any person who participates in the permit transition program from payment of the fee for a swordfish permit.
- Makes findings and declarations regarding DGNs, their impact on non-target species, and potential lower impact fishing gear for catching swordfish.
EXISTING LAW:
- Prohibits the taking of fish for commercial purposes without a commercial fishing license issued by the DFW. [Fish and Game Code (FGC) § 7850 (a)]
- Prohibits the taking of shark and swordfish for commercial purposes with DGN except under a valid DGN shark and swordfish permit. [FGC § 8561 (a)]
- Authorizes the Director of the DFW to close and open the DGN shark and swordfish fishery, as prescribed. [FGC § 8577]
- Authorizes the transfer of a DGN permit under certain circumstances. [FGC § 8561.5]
- Makes the violation of fishing regulations a crime. [FGC § 12002]
- Establishes a swordfish permit that authorizes the take, possession, and landing of swordfish for commercial purposes using specified methods but not including DGNs. Exempts the holder of a DGN permit from the payment of the swordfish permit fee. [FGC § 8567]
- Establishes the fee for a DGN permit as $330. [FGC § 8567]
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: This bill requires the DFW to develop a program by March 31, 2020, to voluntarily transition the holders of DGN permits out of the DGN fishery by the end of the 2023 fishing season.
Author’s Statement:
California is the last state in the United States that allows fishermen to use harmful drift gillnets (DGN) in the swordfish fishery, and this gear has been banned on the high seas and in many countries worldwide because of the unavoidable impacts on marine wildlife, including whales, dolphins, sharks, pinnipeds, and sea turtles. This fishery discards on average over one half of all fish caught and kills over 70 different marine species as bycatch. According to the latest federal estimates, over the 2001-2015 period California swordfish drift gillnets were responsible for the death of an estimated six endangered Pacific leatherback sea turtles, four loggerhead sea turtles, and seven sperm whales. During the same period the fishery caught over 1,300 marine mammals and threw overboard over 140,000 fish and sharks. Because of these impacts, the Pacific Fishery Management Council moved to implement hard caps to limit bycatch and to require 100 percent observer coverage for the fishery. However, those protections were shelved last year by Commerce Secretary Ross. SB 1017 will incentivize California’s swordfish fishing industry to transition away from harmful drift gillnets to more sustainable gear types, such as deep-set buoy systems, by establishing a program to buy back state DGN permits with public and private funds. The bill creates incentives for fishermen to take part in the program by giving buyback participants a free lifetime swordfish permit and sunsetting the DGN fishery in 2023.
Background: Swordfish. Swordfish are large, highly migratory, predatory fish characterized by a long, flat bill. They are found widely in tropical and temperate parts of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, and can typically be found from near the surface to a depth of 1,800 feet. They commonly reach 9.8 feet in length, and the maximum reported is 14.9 feet in length and 1,430 pounds in weight.
Drift Gill Nets. A gill net is a panel of netting suspended vertically in the water by floats, with weights along the bottom. The longest gill nets in California can be 6,000 feet long, and are typically 10 to 50 feet high. Fishermen vary the mesh size or size of the net holes depending on the size of the species they want to capture. The mesh size or net holes are designed to be large enough for the head of the fish to pass through it, but not its body. As a result, when fish swim into the net they are entangled by their gills.
The United Nations banned large-scale DGNs on the high seas in 1991. The DGN fishery is heavily regulated by the states of California and Oregon and by the federal government. DGN gear is not legal in Washington, and Oregon stopped issuing state permits to fish with DGN gear as of 2009.
DGN Fishery in California. Initial development of California’s DGN fishery in the late 1970s was founded on catches of common thresher shark. The thresher shark fishery rapidly expanded, with 228 vessels landing more than 1,000 metric tons of shark in 1985. California’s swordfish fishery transformed from primarily a harpoon fishery to a DGN fishery in the early 1980s and replaced thresher shark as the primary target species because there was a greater demand for swordfish which commanded a higher price-per-pound and likely related to the 1986 establishment of a shark conservation measure. Swordfish landings soared to a historical high of 2,198 metric tons by 1985. At the peak in 1986, 251 DGN permits were issued.
Both participation and fishing effort (measured by the number of sets) have declined over the years. Industry representatives attribute the decline in vessel participation and annual effort to regulations implemented to protect marine mammals, endangered sea turtles, and seabirds. In addition, if oceanic or other conditions are unfavorable for swordfish, permittees may concentrate on more favorable fisheries, such as albacore. Permittees may return to swordfish fishing once conditions improve.
Over 90 percent of the fishing effort in recent years has occurred from August 15 through January 31, with fishing permits issued for the period of April 1 through March 31. According to the DFW, 71 DGN permits and 42 harpoon permits were issued in 2015. The DFW considers 26 fishermen to be active DGN fishers, and five harpoon fishermen are also considered to be active. The remaining permits are considered latent and as such could be utilized in the future.
The data summarized in the table below only pertains to swordfish landings. The DGN fishery primarily targets and harvests swordfish, but also harvests other commercially valuable species such as thresher and mako shark, and opah. For example, 59.5 metric tons of shark and other marketable species were landed by the DGN fishery in 2015, with an additional market value of about $170,000. In comparison to the values in the table, the US imported nearly 11,000 metric tons of swordfish valued at nearly $90 million in 2015. A total of approximately 8,867 metric tons of North Pacific swordfish was landed in 2016 in multiple countries using multiple gear types.
Year | Total Swordfish Landed (metric tons) | Value | Swordfish Landed, Drift Gill Net (metric tons) | Value | Number of Vessels using Drift Gill Nets |
2015 | 624 | $3,773,000 | 96 | $600,000 | 19 |
2016 | 629 | $3,831,000 | 193 | $1,255,000 | 25 |
2017 | 680 | $3,887,000 | 176 | $890,000 | 17 |
Data from: Pacific Fishery Management Council, Summaries of Commercial Fishery Catch, Revenue, and Effort - Tables 3, 4, 12, and 13 https://www.pcouncil.org/highly-migratory-species/stock-assessment-and-fishery-evaluation-safe-documents/current-hms-safe-document/pacfin-data/
Management. The DGN fishery on the U.S. West Coast is co-managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries), the Pacific Fishery Management Council, and the state of California. The fishery operates under a limited entry permit system with mandatory gear requirements and time-area closures, including the Pacific Leatherback Conservation Area Closure (PLCA) which prohibits drift gillnet fishing from August 15 to November 15 in roughly 213,000 square miles within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The Fish and Game Code, beginning at section 8561, contains the existing provisions of law regarding the DGN fishery. Those provisions establish criteria for permits, transfers of permits, the information required for permits, size of nets and other gear restrictions, restricted areas for gill net fishing, as well as additional provisions. In 1994, California eliminated new entrants into the fishery except by permit transfer. In 2017, NOAA Fisheries established a federal limited entry DGN permit, which was implemented over the objection of the DFW. Beginning with the 2018-19 fishery this permit will be required to fish in federal waters with DGN gear. The implementation of a federal permit program did not repeal state permit requirements. As a result, California remains a co-manager of the fishery.
Transition Program. This bill requires the DFW to develop a transition program for the holders of drift gill net permits. For permittees that have landed swordfish or thresher shark between April 1, 2012, and March 31, 2018, and who voluntary surrender their permit, the DFW will pay the fair market value of the permit, not to exceed $10,000, plus the fair market value of a drift gill net not to exceed $65,000. For permittees that have not landed swordfish or thresher shark since April 1, 2012 and who voluntary surrender their permit, the DFW will pay only the fair market value of the permit, not to exceed $10,000. Anyone participating in the transition program is prohibited from obtaining a new California drift gill net permit, agrees not to transfer or renew a federal drift gill net permit, and must surrender their large mesh drift gill net.
Issues with Bycatch. Gill nets are designed to catch a specific size range of fish, but are not species specific. They often entangle many fish that fishermen are not trying to catch. They also frequently entangle large ocean animals, including whales, seals, sea turtles, seabirds, and sharks. This is known as bycatch.
Many consider gill nets to have the highest bycatch impacts on marine mammals, sea turtles, seabirds, and sharks of any fishing gear. The California DGN fishery for swordfish and thresher sharks entangles and kills many species of concern including endangered sperm whales, several other whales, dolphins, sea lions, non-target sharks, bluefin tuna, and occasionally endangered sea turtles. Pingers are small acoustic devices that are put on gill nets to reduce bycatch of porpoises, dolphins, or other marine mammals. Pingers are required in the Northeast bottom gill net fishery and California DGN fishery. Bycatch data is collected by fishery observers. Observers are professionally trained biological scientists that gather first-hand data on what is caught and thrown back, which supports science, conservation, and management activities. Observer coverage on the DGN vessels has fallen short of the 30 percent goal set by NOAA Fisheries. There was 10-11 percent observer coverage in the 2015-16 fishing season.
Deep Set Buoy Gear. The California Ocean Protection Council has supported the research and development of alternatives for catching swordfish, most notably deep-set buoy gear. The gear works by dropping weighted hooks as deep as 1,200 feet below the surface, where swordfish tend to stay during the daytime. When an indicator float drops below the surface, fishermen immediately pull in the line. Tests of this type of gear have shown that the value of swordfish caught is higher due to improved quality over fish caught with DGN gear. This method also results in less bycatch and less mortality for species that are caught as bycatch.
Prior and Related Legislation:
SB 1114 (Allen), 2016, would have outlined timelines for phasing out DGNs, and authorized the DFW to issue deep-set buoy gear or similar gear to take swordfish when that gear is authorized pursuant to federal law. The bill would have established a protocol and incentives for the issuance of the new permits. The bill was held in Senate Appropriations.
AB 2019 (Fong), 2014, would have prohibited the use of DGNs to take shark and swordfish for commercial purposes. The bill died in Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife.
AB 1729 (Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife), Chapter 285, Statutes of 2007, made changes to various fishing provisions, including DGN shark and swordfish regulations.
AB 2888 (Strom-Martin), Chapter 962, Statutes of 2002, made changes to various fishing provisions, including the requirements for receiving a valid DGN shark and swordfish permit.
Arguments in Support: Those in support argue that this bill will transition the California swordfish industry to safer, more selective, sustainable fishing gear that results in minimal bycatch or negative impacts on the ocean ecosystem.
Arguments in Opposition: Those in opposition argue that the DGN industry is sustainably managed and well regulated. Much of what is caught in DGNs in addition to swordfish is marketable and sold by the fishermen. They think that the bill does not reflect current science on bycatch and is in direct conflict with federal management of the fishery. In addition, the ending of the DGN fishery will result in lost jobs and related impacts on fishing communities and local restaurants. The opposition believes the Pacific Fishery Management Council is the correct venue for discussions of changes to the fishery.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
American Cetacean Society
American Cetacean Society - SF Bay Chapter
American Planning Association, California Chapter
American Sportfishing Association
Animal Legal Defense Fund
Asian Pacific Ocean Harmony Alliance
Azul
Balboa Angling Club
Billfish Foundation, The
Bluevoice.org
BoatUS
California Association of Professional Scientists
California Coastal Protection Network
California Coastkeeper Alliance
California ReLeaf
California Sportfishing League
Center for Biological Diversity
Center for Oceanic Awareness, Research, & Education
Center for Sportfishing Policy
Clean Water Action
Coastal Conservation Association of California
Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation
Coastside Fishing Club
Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation
Dana Angling Club
Defenders of Wildlife
Encinitas Arts Culture & Ecology Alliance
Endangered Habitats League
Environment California
Environmental Action Committee of West Marin
Friends of the Earth - Us
Ghost Fishing
Greenpeace USA
Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation
Heal the Bay
Heirs to Our Oceans
Hollywood Divers
Human Society of the United States, the
Humane Society of the United States, The
International Bird Rescue
International Game Fish Association, Inc.
Laguna Niguel Billfish Club
Los Angeles Underwater Explorers
Marine Animal Rescue
Marine Conservation Institute
Marine Mammal Center
Marine Retailers Association of the Americas
Mercy for Animals
National Marine Manufacturers Association
National Professional Anglers Association
Native Animal Rescue
Nonhuman Rights Project
Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association
Ocean Defenders Alliance
Ocean Society of Berkeley
Oceana
Otter Project, The
Pacific Environment
Pacific Marine Mammal Center
Pew Charitable Trusts, The
Plastic Pollution Coalition
Public Interest Coalition
Recreation Fishing Alliance
San Diego Coastkeeper
San Diego Humane Society
San Francisco SPCA
Save Our Shores
Save the Turtles, Inc.
Save the Whales
SeaChange Agency
SeaLegacy
Seaworld Parks & Entertainment
Seventh Generation Advisors
Sierra Club California
Snook & Gamefish Foundation
Social Compassion in Legislation
Surfrider Foundation
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
Trust for Public Land, The
Tuna Club of Avalon
Turtle Island Restoration Network
Upstream Policy
Whale and Dolphin Conservation
Wild Oceans
WildAid
WildCoast
Wishtoyo Chumash Foundation
Opposition
Alliance of Communities for Sustainable Fisheries
Anderson Seafoods, Inc.
Catalina Offshore Products
Fosmark Fisheries, LLC
Loaf And Fish Restaurant, San Diego
Maritime Alliance, The
San Diego Fishermen's Working Group
Santa Monica Seafood
2 Commercial fishermen
Analysis Prepared by: Keith Cialino / W., P., & W. / (916) 319-2096
Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) 327-4478 | SB |
THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1017
:
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 7-2, 4/24/18
AYES: Hertzberg, Allen, Hueso, Jackson, McGuire, Monning, Stern
NOES: Stone, Vidak
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 5/25/18
AYES: Lara, Beall, Bradford, Hill, Wiener
NOES: Bates, Nielsen
DIGEST:
This bill prohibits the use of drift gill net shark and swordfish permits after January 31, 2023, establishes conditions for the transfer of permits, increases the fee for drift gill net permits from $330 to $482.75, and requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to develop a program to transition holders of drift gill net permits that includes buy-back of permits and drift gill nets that may be obtained from specified sources.
ANALYSIS: Existing federal law provides for “federal exempted fishing permits.” These permits allow activities that may otherwise be prohibited and in the case of California swordfish, these permits allow the use of modified drift gill net gear in the Pacific Leatherback Turtle Conservation Area.
Existing state law:
- Establishes current rules regarding the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery including criteria for permits, transfers of permits, the information required for permits, size of nets and other gear restrictions, restricted areas for gill net fishing, as well as additional provisions.
- Prohibits commercial swordfish shallow-set longline fishing within state waters and federal regulations currently prohibit commercial longlining for swordfish within 200 miles of the coast.
- Establishes a fee for swordfish permits, and governs the transferability of those permits.
This bill:
- Contains findings regarding the international disfavor of drift gill nets, the high number of by-catch associated with this gear type, and the effect of that bycatch on other marine life including species protected by state or federal law or international obligations. The findings also include reference to the development of alternative technologies for swordfish known as deep set buoy gear and the importance of California setting the highest standards for the use of sustainable fishing gear.
- Waives the swordfish permit fee for those who participate in the permit transition program.
- Requires all shark and swordfish drift gill net permits to be surrendered or revoked on January 31, 2023.
- Repeals the sunset provision pertaining to the transfer of permits.
- Requires CDFW to develop a program to transition permit holders out of the drift gill net fishery and to pay permittees up to $10,000 for retiring permits and up to $65,000 for destroying or surrendering drift gill nets. Permittees who have not landed swordfish or thresher shark since April, 2012, would receive an additional amount, not to exceed $10,000.
- Requires CDFW to inform the Legislature when it has received funding from private or federal entities equal to one-third of the projected cost of the transition program.
- Prohibits participants in the transition program from obtaining a new drift gill net shark and swordfish permit and requires them from transferring or renewing a federal drift gill net permit, and requires them to surrender their large mesh drift gill net.
- Authorizes the transition program to be funded, upon appropriation, by federal, state, nonprofit, or private sources. CDFW must inform the Legislature when it has received funding equal to one-third of the projected cost of the transition program. The department is required to undertake all reasonable and feasible efforts to obtain funding from the OPC, nonprofit foundations, and federal agencies.
- Requires all the funds obtained for the transition program, from whatever source, to be subject to appropriation by the Legislature.
- States that this article does not create or recognize a property right in fish expected to be caught using a permit issued pursuant to Section 8561.
The California Ocean Protection Council has supported the research and development of alternatives for catching swordfish, most notably deep-set buoy gear. The gear works by dropping weighted hooks as deep as 1,200 feet below the surface, where swordfish tend to stay during the daytime. When an indicator float drops below the surface, fishermen immediately pull in the line.
According to the CDFW, the department issued 71 drift gill net permits and 42 harpoon permits in 2015. It considers 26 fishermen to be active drift gill net fishers, and 5 harpoon fishers are also considered to be active. In 2015, the fleet landed approximately 132 metric tons of swordfish, shark and other marketable species, valued at just under $800,000. Of that, 72.5 metric tons were swordfish, with a value of $630,000. In comparison, the US imported nearly 11,000 metric tons of swordfish valued at nearly $90 million in 2015.
In 1994, California eliminated new entrants into the fishery except by permit transfer. Today, there are approximately 20 active participants in this fishery.
In 2017, NOAA Fisheries established a federal limited entry drift gill net permit over the objection of CDFW. The implementation of a federal permit program did not repeal state permit requirements. Thus, California remains a co-manager of the fishery.
Observer coverage on the vessels using drift gill nets has fallen short of the 30% goal set by NOAA Fisheries. There was 10-11% observer coverage in 2015-16 fishing season.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
- Likely between $1 to $3 million (Fish and Game Preservation Fund) for CDFW to develop and administer the swordfish gear transition program. An unknown amount, at least 50% of the total cost, will be offset by private sector contributions. Potential, but unknown ongoing cost pressures, depending on the timetable by which the fishing community participates in the program.
Gavin Newsom, California Lieutenant Governor
AA Worms
Aguadrone, LLC
All Fish Wear
American Cetacean Society
American Cetacean Society SF Bay Chapter
American Fishing Tackle Company
American Sportfishing Association
Animal Legal Defense Fund
Asian Pacific Ocean Harmony Alliance
Azul
Baja Fish Gear
Baja Fishing Convoys
Balboa Angling Club
Banzai Jerky
BD Outdoors, LLC
Better Fishtrap/ The Quickline System
Blue Wave Jewelry
BlueVoice.org
Bluewater Bait Systems
BoatUS
Bob Rees’ Guide Service
Bob Sands Fishing Tackle, Inc.
Bomboy Fishing Lures
Bungalow Bay Co
California Coastal Protection Network
California Coastkeeper Alliance
California Sportfishing League
Center for Biological Diversity
Center for Oceanic Awareness, Research, & Education
Center for Sportfishing Policy
Chark Bait
Clean Water Action
Coastal Conservation Association of California
Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation
Coastside Fishing Club
Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation
Convict Lake Resort
Cousins Tackle
Cowbuoy Sportfishing
Daiwa Corporation
Dana Angling Club
Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching
Defenders of Wildlife
Double G Guide Service
Duncanby Lodge
Ecology Allliance
Encinitas Arts Culture & Ecology Alliance
Endangered Habitats League
Environment California
Environmental Action Committee of West Marin
Environmental Defense Center
FIA Insurance Services Inc
Fight Club Guided Fishing
Fin & Field
Fisherman’s Access
Fishology Alaska
FPS Consulting
Fred Hall Shows, Inc.
Freedom Boat Club- Parker Boats
Friends of the Earth
Get Some Sports
Ghost Fishing
GMC Sports
Greenpeace USA
Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation
Halco Tackle Company
Harbor Boat Rentals
Heal the Bay
Heirs to Our Oceans
Hobie Cat Company
Hollywood Divers
Hott Stuff Sports
Humane Society of the United States
International Bird Rescue
International Game Fish Association
Jen Wren Sportfishing
Jessica Pratt, Assistant Professor, University of California, Irvine
Karim Hamza Owner, GUE Tech2/ GUE CCR instructor Hollywood Divers
Katmai Lodge- Alaska
Ketcham Tackle
Laguna Niguel Billfish Club
Leisure Sales
Let’s Talk Hookup
Little Stone Flyfisher
Los Angeles Underwater Explorers
Marine Animal Rescue
Marine Animal Rescue
Marine Conservation Institute
Marine Retailers Association of the Americas
Marshall Madruga Brands
Mercy For Animals
Michael’s Guide Service
National Marine Manufacturers Association
National Professional Anglers Association
Native Animal Rescue
Nautilus Reels
New Fishall Bait Co
Nonhuman Rights Project
Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association
Ocean Defenders Alliance
Ocean Society of Berkeley
Oceana
OFBoutdoors
Okuma Fishing Tackle
Oregon River Trails Outfitters
Pacific Coast Sportfishing Magazine
Pacific Environment
Pacific Marine Mammal Center
Pacific Properties Service
Pacific Recreational Products
Paradise Guide Service
Pelagic
Performance Tackle
Pew Charitable Trusts
Phenix Rods
Picante Sportfishing
Plastic Pollution Coalition
Poulson Cascade Tackle, LLC
Pro Towers
Pro-Cure
Public Interest Coalition
Qualia Reels
Recreational Fishing Alliance
Reliable Fishing Products
Richard D Ross Construction Inc
RinseKit
Salmon Catcher Lodge
Salmon King Lodge
Salt Water Bass Anglers
San Diego Coastkeeper
San Diego Humane Society
San Diego Tackle Traders
San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Save Our Shores
Save the Turtles, Inc.
Save the Whales
Scent Blazer Lures
Sea Tow Newport Beach/LA
SeaChange Agency
SeaGuide
SeaLegacy
Seasons Sportfishing
SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment
Seventh Generation Advisors
Shannon Rose Sportfishing
Shimano American Corporation
Sierra Club California
Sky’s Guide Service
Snook & Gamefish Foundation
SoCalReels
SoCalReels- Pulliam Enterprise
Social Compassion in Legislation
SOS Marine
Spear America
Sportfishing Financial
Steve Huber Guide Service
Sunrize Tackle, Inc.
Surfrider Foundation
Tackle Warehouse
The Billfish Foundation
The Boardroom Charters
The Humane Society of the United States
The Maritime Alliance
The Otter Project
The Rusty Hook
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
Thresher Boats
Tibor Reels
Tom Posey Co
Toro Tamer
Total Fisherman Guide Service
Tow Boat US & Vessel Assist
Trust for Public Land
Tuna Club of Avalon
Turtle Island Restoration Network
Upstream Policy
West Coast Trailers
West Marine
Western Fishing Adventures, Ltd.
Western Outdoor News
Westernbass
Whale and Dolphin Conservation
Whopper Stoppers
Wild Oceans
WildAid
Wildcoast
Wishtoyo Chumash Foundation
Yes Bay Lodge Alaska
Several hundred emails/letters
OPPOSITION: (Verified 5/25/18)
Alliance of Communities for Sustainable Fisheries
Anderson Seafoods
California Fisheries and Seafood Institute
Catalina Offshore Products
Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara
Loaf and Fish Restaurant, San Diego
Santa Monica Seafood
San Diego Fishermen’s Working Group
The Chamber of Commerce of the Santa Barbara Region
Three Boys in San Diego
5 Commercial fishermen
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, California is the last state in the U.S. that allows fishermen to use drift gill nets in the swordfish fishery. This particular gear type has been banned in many locations worldwide because of the impacts on marine wildlife. The author said that according to the latest federal estimates, from 2001-15 California swordfish gill nets were responsible for the death of an estimated 6 Pacific leatherback sea turtles, 4 loggerhead sea turtles, and seven sperm whales. During the same period, the fishery caught over 1,300 marine mammals and threw overboard more than 140,000 fish and sharks.
Because of these impacts, the Pacific Fishery Management Council moved to implement hard caps to limit bycatch and to require 100% observer coverage for the fishery. However, those protections were shelved last year by Commerce Secretary Ross.
The author believes that SB 1017 will create an incentive for the California swordfish fishing industry to transition away from drift gillnets to more sustainable gear types such as deep-set buoy systems.
Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom stated that the high bycatch rate poses an unacceptable risk to populations of iconic or threatened marine species such as turtles, whales, dolphins, sea lions, and sharks. He quoted data from observers that on 160 of the fishery’s 714 net deployments, drift gill nets killed 16 dolphins, 34 blue sharks, 20 common molas, and 1 sea lion. These figures represent mortality from just 22 percent of the fishery’s effort last year.
A coalition of sportfishing organizations supports the bill as a way to transition the California swordfish fishery to sustainable gear with minimal bycatch.
Many other conservation organizations consider drift gill nets to be the most harmful of all gear types, with significant adverse effects on sea turtles, various shark species, whales, dolphins, and pinnipeds. They point to the recommendations of 230 scientists and 100 institutions that support ending the use of drift gill nets.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: The Alliance of Communities for Sustainable Fisheries, based on the central coast, denies any recent sea turtle mortality from drift gill nets, and, along with other opponents, further claims that 94% of the by catch is either released alive or sold to market. Santa Monica Seafood, a processing and distribution business, says that 42,000 sea turtles were legally and illegally killed in 42 countries around the world in 2013 alone. Many opponents also argue that California-harvested swordfish are subject to more environmental protections than those in other countries and that a ban here would result in swordfish imports in the U.S. that are subject to fewer environmental protections. The opposition also argues that the federal efforts to assume regulatory control over the fishery should be recognized and that California should shelve this effort to establish more stringent state regulations.
The California Fisheries and Seafood Institute says that improvements in drift gill net gear have reduced interactions with protected species such as beaked whales, sea turtles and mammals, such that the federal government has reclassified this fishery to reflect these improvements. It credits the two large conservation areas established for sea turtles as ending (or virtually ending) fatalities involving loggerhead and leatherback sea turtles.
This group believes that the amount of swordfish harvested from deep set buoy gear is far less than can now be harvested by drift gill net gear which will further
increase demand for imported swordfish. Domestic swordfish accounts for less than 25% of the swordfish consumed in the U.S.
5/29/18 9:38:52
**** END ****
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2017 - 2018 Regular Session
SB 1017 (Allen) - Commercial fishing: drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery
Version: | Policy Vote: |
Urgency: | Mandate: |
Hearing Date: | Consultant: |
Bill Summary:
SB 1017 establishes policies for phasing out the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery, including a voluntary fishing permit buy-out program, a significant increase in landing fees, and hard caps on take of each species.
*********** ANALYSIS ADDENDUM – SUSPENSE FILE ***********
The following information is revised to reflect amendments
adopted by the committee on May 25, 2018
Fiscal Impact:
- Likely between $1 to $3 million (Fish and Game Preservation Fund) for the Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to develop and administer the swordfish gear transition program. An unknown amount, at least 50% of the total cost, will be offset by private sector contributions.
- Potential, but unknown ongoing cost pressures, depending on the timetable by which the fishing community participates in the program.
Committee Amendments:
Amendments clarify provisions, costs, and the process for initiating the swordfish gear transition program. In addition, amendments direct the department to undertake all reasonable and feasible efforts to obtain funding from the Ocean Protection Council, nonprofit foundations, and federal agencies to implement this section.
-- END --
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2017 - 2018 Regular Session
SB 1017 (Allen) - Commercial fishing: drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery
Version: | Policy Vote: |
Urgency: | Mandate: |
Hearing Date: | Consultant: |
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary:
SB 1017 establishes policies for phasing out the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery, including a voluntary fishing permit buy-out program, a significant increase in landing fees, and hard caps on take of each species.
Fiscal impact:
- Unknown, likely around $1 to $3 million (Fish and Game Preservation Fund) for the Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to develop and administer deep set buoy program and permit buy-back program, conduct outreach, make technological changes, and enforce provisions of the bill. An unknown amount will be offset by increased landing fees and private capital contributions. (See staff comments)
- Costs pressures in the millions of dollars to buy back permits and provide financial assistance to fishers who opt to transition to deep set buoy gear. An unknown amount will be offset by increased landing fees and potentially by private funding.
Background:
The Fish and Game Code, beginning at section 8561, contains the existing provisions of law regarding the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery. Those provisions establish criteria for permits, transfers of permits, the information required for permits, size of nets and other gear restrictions, restricted areas for gill net fishing, as well as additional provisions.
In addition, the State of California has fishery policies to protect endangered sea turtles and other marine life by prohibiting commercial swordfish shallow-set longline fishing within state waters and federal regulations currently prohibit commercial longlining for swordfish within 200 miles of the coast.
The state, primarily the California Ocean Protection Council, has supported the research and development of alternatives for catching swordfish, most notably deep-set buoy gear. The gear works by dropping weighted hooks as deep as 1,200 feet below the surface, where swordfish tend to stay during the daytime. When an indicator float drops below the surface, fishermen immediately pull in the line.
According to the CDFW, it issued 71 drift gill net permits and 42 harpoon permits in 2015. It considers 26 fishermen to be active drift gill net fishers, and 5 harpoon fishers are also considered to be active. In 2015, the fleet landed approximately 132 metric tons of swordfish, shark and other marketable species, valued at just under $800,000. Of that, 72.5 metric tons were swordfish, with a value of $630,000. In comparison, the US imported nearly 11,000 metric tons of swordfish valued at nearly $90 million in 2015.
There are provisions under federal law for what are called federal exempted fishing permits (EFP). These allow activities that may otherwise be prohibited and in the case of California swordfish, these permits allow the use of modified drift gill net gear in the Pacific Leatherback Turtle Conservation Area.
Proposed Law:
This bill:
- Sets forth several findings regarding the importance of California fishermen using the most sustainable fishing gear available.
- Exempts from the $330 swordfish fee those who have a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit and any person who participates in the buyback program established by the CDFW. The fee for drift gill net shark and swordfish permits would increase as described below.
- Sunsets the provisions in existing law that allows for permits to be transferred.
- Establishes a new provision that permits may be transferred to entities that are engaged in retiring permits beginning on March 31, 2019.
- Establishes a new fee for drift gill net shark and swordfish fishing permits that expire on March 31, 2019 of $482.75.
- Establishes a new fee for drift gill net shark and swordfish fishing permits on or after April 1, 2020 of $3000 which must be adjusted pursuant to changes in the Implicit Price Deflator for State and Local Government Purchases of Goods and Services as published by the U.S. Department of Commerce, as required for adjustments to other fees as required by section 713 of the Fish and Game Code. This fee does not apply to those who participate in the buy-back program.
- Requires those fishing with a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit to have an observer on board when drift gill nets are used.
- Requires the CDFW to adopt hard numeric caps for bycatch on or before January 1, 2020 which must be effective through March 31, 2025 that are consistent with the preferred alternative for the California large mesh drift gill net fishery adopted by the Pacific Fishery Management Council in September, 2015, and requires the CDFW to immediately close the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery when a hard cap for any species is reached in any given two year period. The closure would be in place for the remainder of that two year period.
- Requires, by April 1, 2025 the CDFW to evaluate bycatch data from observers and determine whether to continue the use of observers and hard caps. If the continuation is warranted, the CDFW must adopt regulations to that effect.
- Defines “hard cap” to mean the total maximum number of any marine life species allowed to be injured or killed in a drift gill net before closure of the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery.
- Prohibits a permittee from reclaiming a surrendered drift gill net permit.
- Creates a buy-back program for drift gill net permits that will begin January 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020 and establishes the following conditions:
- The CDFW must conduct a reverse sealed bid auction for permittees who have landed swordfish or thresher shark on or after April 1, 2012. Each qualifying permittee who volunteers to participate must submit an irrevocable bid. The CDFW must purchase permits starting with the lowest bids until 75% of available funds are expended.
- Permittees who have landed swordfish or thresher shark on or after April 1, 20107 but not on or after April 1, 2012 and who volunteer to participate in the buyback program must be compensated three times the five year average of the value of the permittee’s swordfish and thresher shark landings from April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2012 or ____ dollars, whichever is greater.
- Permittees who have not landed swordfish or thresher shark since April 1, 2007 and who volunteer to participate in the buyback program must receive $_____.
- Permittees who participate in the buyback program must be prohibited from obtaining a new California drift gill net permit, must agree not to transfer or renew a federal drift gill net permit, and must surrender his or her large mesh drift gill net.
- The buyback program will be implemented upon appropriation by the Legislature or federal funding received by the CDFW for purposes of implementing the buyback program. The CDFW must inform the relevant policy and budget committees when it has received funding equal to one-third of the projected cost of the buyback program.
- Authorizes CDFW to use public, private and nonprofit dollars to implement the program.
Related Legislation:
SB 1114 (Allen, 2016) SB 1114 outlines timelines for phasing out drift gill nets, and authorizes the CDFW to issue deep-set buoy gear or similar gear to take swordfish when that gear is authorized pursuant to federal law. The bill also establishes a protocol and incentives for the issuance of the new permits. Died on Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense file.
Staff Comments:
Fiscal uses information from SB 1114. CDFW was unable to provide fiscal information at the time this analysis was written. The fiscal analysis is based on last years’ SB 1114 (Allen) which similarly attempted to transition away from drift gill nets to deep set buoy, though some provisions of the bills are different. Staff notes the ability to recover or use private dollars for much of the workload; however, until funding is committed to the Department for this purpose, it cannot be considered.
Fish and Game Preservation Fund (FGPF) structural deficit. This bill will result in a multimillion dollar potentially unfunded mandate and an additional multimillion dollar cost pressure. Fiscal impacts may be lessened by increased fees and private dollars invested in progress. However, absent language requiring private investment or a firm commitment for it, this analysis assumes the state will fund all or most of the program.
The FGPF is most likely going to fund most department activities. According to the Legislative Analyst Office (LAO); expenditures from the fund currently exceed annual revenues by more than $20 million. To address this deficit, the CDFW received a one-time 2017-18 Budget included $18.7 million from various sources. The department is also undergoing a comprehensive budget review and, pursuant to the enacted 2017‑18 Budget Act in the process of completing a zero‑based budget.
Staff notes “that there are currently six bills, including this one, going through the legislative process related to R3 (recruitment, retention and reactivation) that if implemented would all require staff hours for programing the Automated Licensing Data System. These bills individually have small impacts to the Department but cumulatively would have an impact in staff hours and vendor contracts of up to 3.3 PYs and $965,000 for one fiscal year. These bills include AB 986 (Gallagher), AB 2151 (Gray), AB 2670 (Kiley), AB 2805 (Bigelow), SB 518 (Berryhill), and SB 1311 (Berryhill).”
Fiscal information is left black in the bill. This bill does not indicate the price for the retirement of latent and active permits. This information is critical to understanding the fiscal impacts of the bill as it will represent a significant portion of the implementation cost.
-- END --
SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER
Senator Robert Hertzberg, Chair
2017 - 2018 Regular
Bill No: SB 1017 Hearing Date: April 24, 2018
Author: | |||
Version: |
| ||
Urgency: | Fiscal: | ||
Consultant: | |||
Subject: Commercial fishing: drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
The Fish and Game Code, beginning at section 8561, contains the existing provisions of law regarding the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery. Those provisions establish criteria for permits, transfers of permits, the information required for permits, size of nets and other gear restrictions, restricted areas for gill net fishing, as well as additional provisions.
In addition, the State of California has fishery policies to protect endangered sea turtles and other marine life by prohibiting commercial swordfish shallow-set longline fishing within state waters and federal regulations currently prohibit commercial longlining for swordfish within 200 miles of the coast.
The California Ocean Protection Council has supported the research and development of alternatives for catching swordfish, most notably deep-set buoy gear. The gear works by dropping weighted hooks as deep as 1,200 feet below the surface, where swordfish tend to stay during the daytime. When an indicator float drops below the surface, fishermen immediately pull in the line.
According to the Department of Fish and Wildlife (department), the department issued 71 drift gill net permits and 42 harpoon permits in 2015. It considers 26 fishermen to be active drift gill net fishers, and 5 harpoon fishers are also considered to be active. In 2015, the fleet landed approximately 132 metric tons of swordfish, shark and other marketable species, valued at just under $800,000. Of that, 72.5 metric tons were swordfish, with a value of $630,000. In comparison, the US imported nearly 11,000 metric tons of swordfish valued at nearly $90 million in 2015.
There are provisions under federal law for what are called “federal exempted fishing permits.” These allow activities that may otherwise be prohibited and in the case of California swordfish, these permits allow the use of modified drift gill net gear in the Pacific Leatherback Turtle Conservation Area.
Other provisions in the Fish and Game Code establish a fee for swordfish permits, and govern the transferability of those permits.
In 1994, California eliminated new entrants into the fishery except by permit transfer. Today, there are approximately 20 active participants in this fishery.
In 2017, NOAA Fisheries established a federal limited entry drift gill net permit over the objection of the department. The implementation of a federal permit program did not repeal state permit requirements. Thus, California remains a co-manager of the fishery.
Observer coverage on the vessels using drift gill nets has fallen short of the 30% goal set by NOAA Fisheries. There was 10-11% observer coverage in 2015-16 fishing season.
PROPOSED LAW
This bill:
- Sets forth several findings regarding the importance of California fishermen using the most sustainable fishing gear available.
- Declares that drift gill net equipment that targets swordfish and sharks has been banned on the high seas and in ocean waters of numerous countries and other states in the U.S. because of the unavoidable impacts to marine wildlife, including whales, dolphins, sharks, pinnipeds, and sea turtles, including the California state marine reptile, the Pacific leatherback sea turtle. Some of these affected species are protected under state and federal law or covered by international agreements.
- Cites data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s observer program that California’s drift gill net fishery discards on average more than one-half of all fish caught, kills over 70 different marine species as bycatch, and has among the highest rates of marine mammal and sea turtle interactions across all West Coast fisheries.
- Asserts that California should set the standard for sustainable swordfish fishing internationally in order to maintain equivalence with other states and to assist in establishing stronger international standards for sustainability in commercial fishing.
- States that the Pacific Fisheries Management Council is in the process of authorizing a new innovative technology for fishing swordfish that is called deep set buoy gear. This gear has been deployed on the East Coast where it has been proven to be among the most selective and sustainable gear to catch swordfish. Trials of this gear in California have demonstrated the gear can effectively catch swordfish with minimal bycatch or bycatch mortality.
- Declares legislative intent to direct new entrants into the swordfish fishery in California toward the use of lower impact fishing gear while allowing current participants in the drift gill net fishery to continue those practices with additional monitoring and bycatch safeguards until retirement.
- Defines “observer” to mean an independent specialist who serves aboard a fishing vessel for the purpose of monitoring catch and bycatch.
- Exempts from the $330 swordfish fee those who have a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit and any person who participates in the buyback program established by the department. The fee for drift gill net shark and swordfish permits would increase as described below.
- Sunsets the provisions in existing law that allows for permits to be transferred.
- Establishes a new provision that permits may be transferred to entities that are engaged in retiring permits beginning on March 31, 2019.
- Establishes a new fee for drift gill net shark and swordfish fishing permits that expire on 3/31/2019 of $482.75.
- Establishes a new fee for drift gill net shark and swordfish fishing permits on or after 4/1/2020 of $3000 which shall be adjusted pursuant to changes in the Implicit Price Deflator for State and Local Government Purchases of Goods and Services as published by the U.S. Department of Commerce, as required for adjustments to other fees as required by section 713 of the Fish and Game Code. This fee does not apply to those who participate in the buy-back program described below.
- Requires those fishing with a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit to have an observer on board when drift gill nets are used.
- Requires the department to adopt hard numeric caps for bycatch on or before 1/1/2020 which shall be effective through 3/31/2025 that are consistent with the preferred alternative for the California large mesh drift gill net fishery adopted by the Pacific Fishery Management Council in September, 2015, and requires the department to immediately close the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery when a hard cap for any species is reached in any given two year period. The closure would be in place for the remainder of that two year period.
- Requires, by 4/1/25 the department to evaluate bycatch data from observers and determine whether to continue the use of observers and hard caps. If the continuation is warranted, the department shall adopt regulations to that effect.
- Defines “hard cap” to mean the total maximum number of any marine life species allowed to be injured or killed in a drift gill net before closure of the drift gill net shark and swordfish fishery.
- Prohibits a permittee from reclaiming a surrendered drift gill net permit.
- Creates a buy-back program for drift gill net permits that will begin 1/1/19 and 3/31/20 and establishes the following conditions:
- The department shall conduct a reverse sealed bid auction for permittees who have landed swordfish or thresher shark on or after 4/1/12. Each qualifying permittee who volunteers to participate shall submit an irrevocable bid. The department shall purchase permits starting with the lowest bids until 75% of available funds are expended.
- Permittees who have landed swordfish or thresher shark on or after 4/1/07 but not on or after 4/1/12 and who volunteer to participate in the buyback program shall be compensated three times the five year average of the value of the permittee’s swordfish and thresher shark landings from 4/1/2007 to 3/31/2012 or ____ dollars, whichever is greater.
- Permittees who have not landed swordfish or thresher shark since 4/1/07 and who volunteer to participate in the buyback program shall receive $_____.
- Permittees who participate in the buyback program shall be prohibited from obtaining a new California drift gill net permit, shall agree not to transfer or renew a federal drift gill net permit, and shall surrender his or her large mesh drift gill net.
- The buyback program will be implemented upon appropriation by the Legislature or federal funding received by the department for purposes of implementing the buyback program. The department shall inform the relevant policy and budget committees when it has received funding equal to one-third of the projected cost of the buyback program.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
According to the author, California is the last state in the U.S. that allows fishermen to use drift gill nets in the swordfish fishery. This particular gear type has been banned in many locations worldwide because of the impacts on marine wildlife. The author said that according to the latest federal estimates, from 2001-15 California swordfish gill nets were responsible for the death of an estimated 6 Pacific leatherback sea turtles, 4 loggerhead sea turtles, and seven sperm whales. During the same period, the fishery caught over 1,300 marine mammals and threw overboard more than 140,000 fish and sharks.
Because of these impacts, the Pacific Fishery Management Council moved to implement hard caps to limit bycatch and to require 100% observer coverage for the fishery. However, those protections were shelved last year by Commerce Secretary Ross.
The author believes that SB 1017 will create an incentive for the California swordfish fishing industry to transition away from drift gillnets to more sustainable gear types such as deep-set buoy systems, but establishing a program to buy back state drift gill net permits with public and private funds. The bill creates incentives for fishermen to take part in the program by giving buyback participants a free lifetime swordfish permit (because they are exempt from the fee and have participated in the buyback program) and putting additional requirements on the remaining drift gill net fleet, including increased permit fees. The bill also requires the department to require observers on boats using drift gill nets, and adopting the hard cap requirement for the number of marine mammals and other sensitive species that may be caught in the fishery.
Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom stated that the high bycatch rate poses an unacceptable risk to populations of iconic or threatened marine species such as turtles, whales, dolphins, sea lions, and sharks. He quoted data from observers that on 160 of the fishery’s 714 net deployments, drift gill nets killed 16 dolphins, 34 blue sharks, 20 common molas, and 1 sea lion. These figures represent mortality from just 22 percent of the fishery’s effort last year.
Mr. Newsom also noted that increased observer coverage and hard caps were previously considered and adopted by the Pacific Fishery Management Council in 2015. However, the National Marine Fisheries Service rejected those provisions in 2017. To the Lieutenant Governor, this decision perpetuates an ineffective 30% (or less) observer coverage of the drift gill net fishery, and allows unrestricted fishing irrespective of incidental bycatch that includes endangered marine species. He concluded, that “in the absence of leadership and environmental stewardship from federal regulatory bodies, the state has a responsibility to ensure it issues permits under terms that protect non-target species.”
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION
The opposition disputes virtually all of the supporters contentions. For example, the Alliance of Communities for Sustainable Fisheries, based on the central coast, denies any recent sea turtle mortality from drift gill nets, and, along with other opponents, further claims that 94% of the by catch is either released alive or sold to market. Santa Monica Seafood, a processing and distribution business, says that 42,000 sea turtles were legally and illegally killed in 42 countries around the world in 2013 alone. Many opponents also argue that California-harvested swordfish are subject to more environmental protections than those in other countries and that a ban here would result in swordfish imports in the U.S. that are subject to fewer environmental protections. The opposition also argues that the federal efforts to assume regulatory control over the fishery should be recognized and that California should shelve this effort to establish more stringent state regulations.
The California Fisheries and Seafood Institute says that improvements in drift gill net gear have reduced interactions with protected species such as beaked whales, sea turtles and mammals, such that the federal government has reclassified this fishery to reflect these improvements. It credits the two large conservation areas established for sea turtles as ending (or virtually ending) fatalities involving loggerhead and leatherback sea turtles.
This group believes that the amount of swordfish harvested from deep set buoy gear is far less than can now be harvested by drift gill net gear which will further increase demand for imported swordfish. Domestic swordfish accounts for less than 25% of the swordfish consumed in the U.S.
COMMENTS
- As noted in Section 18 describing the bill, there are two blanks reflecting monetary amounts that could be paid to those who participate in the buyback program. Those amounts will be negotiated by the author and stakeholders assuming the bill moves forward.
- The bill clearly contemplates the possibility of private funding, probably philanthropic funding, for the buyback program. The bill should be amended to specifically provide for that source of funding, where such funds should be deposited, and that they are subject to appropriation by the Legislature. (Amendment 1).
SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS
AMENDMENT 1
Page 8, line 16, add: The department may obtain funding from federal, state, nonprofit, or private sources for this program.
SUPPORT
American Cetacean Society SF Bay Chapter
Animal Legal Defense Fund
Asian Pacific Ocean Harmony Alliance
Azul
BlueVoice.org
California Coastal Protection Network
California Coastkeeper Alliance
Center for Biological Diversity
Center for Oceanic Awareness, Research, and Education
Clean Water Action
Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation
Defenders of Wildlife
Ecology Allliance
Endangered Habitats League
Environment California
Environmental Action Committee of West Marin
Environmental Defense Center
Friends of the Earth
Ghost Fishing
Greenpeace USA
Heal the Bay
Heirs to Our Oceans
Hollywood Divers
Humane Society of the United States
International Bird Rescue
Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom
Los Angeles Underwater Explorers
Marine Animal Rescue
Marine Conservation Institute
Mercy For Animals
Native Animal Rescue
Nonhuman Rights Project
Ocean Defenders Alliance
Ocean Society Berkeley
Oceana
Pacific Environment
Pacific Marine Mammal Center
Pew Charitable Trusts
Plastic Pollution Coalition
Public Interest Coalition
San Diego Coastkeeper
San Diego Humane Society
San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Save Our Shores
Save the Turtles, Inc.
Save the Whales
SeaChange Agency
SeaLegacy
SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment
Seventh Generation Advisors
Sierra Club California
Surfrider Foundation
The Otter Project
Trust for Public Land
Turtle Island Restoration Network
Upstream Policy
Whale and Dolphin Conservation
Wildaid
Wildcoast
Wishtoyo Chumash Foundation
Several hundred emails/letters
OPPOSITION
Alliance of Communities for Sustainable Fisheries
Anderson Seafoods
California Fisheries and Seafood Institute
Catalina Offshore Products
Loaf and Fish Restaurant, San Diego
Santa Monica Seafood
San Diego Fishermen’s Working Group
Three Boys in San Diego
4 Commercial fishermen
-- END --
