Bill Text: CA AB408 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Commercial fishing: lobster management enhancement.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2010-09-30 - Vetoed by Governor. [AB408 Detail]

Download: California-2009-AB408-Amended.html

---

BILL NUMBER: AB 408	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 5, 2010
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JANUARY 4, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Saldana

                        FEBRUARY 23, 2009

   An act to amend Section 9010 of, to add and repeal Section 8254.5
of, and to add and repeal Article 5.5 (commencing with Section 8260)
of Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 6 of, the Fish and Game Code,
relating to commercial fishing.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 408, as amended, Saldana. Commercial fishing: lobster
management enhancement.
   Existing law prohibits the taking of lobsters for commercial
purposes except under a valid lobster permit issued by the Department
of Fish and Game. The base permit fee for a lobster permit is $265.
   This bill, commencing April 1, 2011, and until March 31, 2016,
would impose, in addition to the permit fee, a supplemental fee of
$300, to be known as the Lobster Management Enhancement Supplement.
The bill would require the department to deposit supplement revenues
in the Lobster Management Enhancement Account, which the bill would
create in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund. The bill would require
that money in the account be expended by the department, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, exclusively to fund specified
projects and programs to improve lobster sustainability and
management. The bill would create a 5-member Lobster Management
Enhancement Advisory Committee  that would meet only once during
any calendar year  to recommend to the department projects and
programs and budgets for the expenditure of account moneys, including
a plan to prioritize expenditures.  The bill would require the
California Lobster and Trap Fishermen's Association to pay the costs
associated with providing a venue for committee meetings.  Those
lobster management enhancement provisions would be repealed on
January 1, 2017.
   Existing law prescribes the construction and dimensions of a wire
lobster trap.
   This bill would revise the prescribed dimensions of wire lobster
traps, and would add provisions relating to the use of a wire to hold
the escape gap in place.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


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

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) California's spiny lobster fishery is an important component
of California's marine ecosystem, as well as an important source of
jobs for California fishermen and fisherwomen and food for consumers.

   (b) California's commercial and recreational lobster fishermen and
fisherwomen, primarily through associations, should participate in
the development and implementation of new approaches to managing
lobster fishing. Those approaches should be designed to ensure
economical and sustainable fishing.
   (c) California's lobster fishing associations will greatly benefit
from an established mechanism that will provide a steady source of
funds for projects that promote the long-term sustainability and
improved management of the California spiny lobster fishery. 
   (d) Improving the sustainability of the spiny lobster fishery
through mechanisms such as development of a fishery management plan
requires far greater funding resources than the revenue generated by
this bill. Revenue generated by this bill constitutes permittees'
contribution to the improvement of the spiny lobster fishery, which
then must be augmented by additional funding resources to improve
management of the fishery. 
  SEC. 2.  Section 8254.5 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to
read:
   8254.5.  (a) In addition to the fee imposed pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 8254, commencing April 1, 2011, a person
described in subdivision (b) of Section 8254 shall also pay a
 three hundred dollar ($300)  supplemental fee 
of three hundred dollars ($300)  . The supplemental fee shall be
known as the Lobster Management Enhancement Supplement. The
department shall deposit Lobster Management Enhancement Supplement
revenues in the Lobster Management Enhancement Account in the Fish
and Game Preservation Fund pursuant to Section 8262.
   (b) Section 713 does not apply to the Lobster Management
Enhancement Supplement.
   (c) This section shall become inoperative on March 31, 2016, and,
as of January 1, 2017, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2017, deletes or
extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.
  SEC. 3.  Article 5.5 (commencing with Section 8260) is added to
Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 6 of the Fish and Game Code, to read:


      Article 5.5.  Lobster Management Enhancement Supplement


   8260.  As used in this article:
   (a) "Account" means the Lobster Management Enhancement Account
established in Section 8262.
   (b) "Committee" means the Lobster Management Enhancement Advisory
Committee established pursuant to Section 8263.
   8262.  (a) Lobster Management Enhancement Supplement revenues
received by the department pursuant to Section 8254.5, and any
interest earned on those revenues, shall be deposited in the Lobster
Management Enhancement Account, which is hereby established in the
Fish and Game Preservation Fund. The money in the account, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, shall be expended by the department
exclusively for projects and programs to improve lobster
sustainability and management consistent with subdivision (b). The
department shall maintain the internal accountability necessary to
ensure that expenditure of funds from the account is consistent with
the requirements and purposes of this article. The department shall
annually provide to the committee a full accounting of expenditures
from the account and make that information available to the public.
   (b) The committee shall develop a plan that prioritizes
expenditures on projects and programs that support long-term
sustainability or improved management, or both, of the California
spiny lobster fishery, consistent with Section 35650 of the Public
Resources Code, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
   (1) Obtaining Marine Stewardship Council sustainability
certification.
   (2) Coordination and collaboration within the fishery to help
develop or improve new management approaches that optimize catch per
unit effort and create incentives for ecosystem improvement.
   (3) Repaying loans for lobster fishery management improvement
projects.
   (4) Conducting research leading to informed and strategic
management of the fishery.
   (5)  Preparation   Contributing to the
preparation  of a lobster fishery management plan.
   (c) The director shall not fund any project or program pursuant to
this article that the director determines to be inconsistent with
the priorities identified pursuant to subdivision (b) and with this
article. 
   (d) Nothing in this article, nor any decision of the committee,
shall be construed to create an obligation on the part of the
department to engage in a particular scientific, policy, or planning
effort.  
   (d) 
    (e)  Department administrative overhead, collection, or
other charges shall not exceed  15   20 
percent of the  annual expenditures from the account
  amount collected annually in the account  . 
   (f) In order to reduce department costs, the committee shall only
meet once during any calendar year.  
   (g) The California Lobster and Trap Fishermen's Association shall
pay the costs associated with providing a venue for committee
meetings. 
   8263.  (a) The Lobster Management Enhancement Advisory Committee
is hereby created, consisting of five members, as follows:
   (1) One member, with an alternate, who is representative of the
state's commercial lobster fishermen and fisherwomen or who is a
biological scientist actively involved in lobster research and who is
affiliated with a college or university within the state. A member
appointed pursuant to this paragraph and his or her alternate shall
be appointed by the director from licensed lobster permittees and
scientists who have submitted their names for consideration.
   (2) Three members, each with an alternate, appointed by the
membership of the California Lobster and Trap Fishermen's
Association. This subdivision does not prohibit persons selected
pursuant to paragraph (1) from also being a member of the California
Lobster and Trap Fishermen's Association.
   (3) The director, or his or her designee.
   (b) Except for a biological scientist member appointed pursuant to
paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), the committee members described in
paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a) and their alternates shall
hold a valid lobster permit.
   (c) A vote by the committee is not valid unless all five members
or their alternates are present to vote.
   (d) The committee shall recommend to the department projects and
programs consistent with subdivision (b) of Section 8262 and budgets
for the expenditure of moneys received pursuant to this article.
   8264.  The department may receive funds for deposit in the
account, for purposes of this article, from sources other than the
sale of commercial fishing lobster permits, including, but not
limited to, grants from the federal government, grants from private
foundations, money disbursed from court settlements, and donations
and bequests from individuals. Additional funds received pursuant to
this section shall not be deposited in the account unless the person
or entity providing the funds specifically designates in writing,
prior to or at the time of transmittal of the funds to the
department, that the funds are intended solely for deposit to that
account.
   8265.  This article shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2017, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends
that date.
  SEC. 4.  Section 9010 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:

   9010.  (a) Subject to Article 5 (commencing with Section 8250) of
Chapter 2, spiny lobster may be taken with lobster traps under a
lobster permit issued pursuant to Section 8254.
   (b) Notwithstanding Sections 8660 and 8665, lobster traps may be
used in any area of the state not otherwise closed to the taking of
lobsters up to, but not closer than, 75 feet of any private pier,
wharf, jetty, breakwater, or dock.
   (c) A wire lobster trap shall be built of rectangular wire mesh
with inside mesh measurement not less than 11/2 inches by 31/2
inches, the 31/2-inch measurement to be parallel to the floor of the
trap. A wire lobster trap shall be fitted with at least one rigid
rectangular escape gap with an inside vertical measurement not less
than 23/8 inches at all points and an inside horizontal measurement
of not less than 111/2 inches at all points. The horizontal sides of
the escape gap shall be located parallel to, and the escape gap
within 23/8 inches of the floor on any outside wall of, the rearmost
chamber of the lobster trap and shall be clearly accessible to the
lobsters.
   (d) Notwithstanding subdivision (c), wire may be used to hold the
escape gap in place that reduces the inside vertical or horizontal
measurement of the escape gap specified in subdivision (c), but only
if all of the following requirements are met:
   (1) The overall diameter of the wire, including any coating on the
wire, shall measure less than the diameter of 10 gauge wire.
   (2) A maximum of one wire wrap shall be located on each vertical
side of the escape gap.
   (3) A maximum of two wire wraps shall be located on the bottom
horizontal side of the escape gap.
   (4) Wire shall not be used on the top horizontal side of the
escape gap.
   (5) Each wire shall be tightly wrapped against the inside surface
of the escape gap and shall not pass over the inside surface more
than once. As used in this paragraph, "tightly wrapped" means no
space exists at any point between the wire and the inside surface of
the escape gap.
   (e) A lobster trap constructed of lath or other material shall
have an opening to allow a means of escape along the full length of
one side of the rearmost chamber. The escape opening shall be of a
spacing of not less than 23/8 inches, and the spacing shall be
located parallel to, and within 23/8 inches of, the floor of the
lobster trap.