Bill Text: CA SB21 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended

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

---

Bill Title: Fishing gear.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2010-09-29 - In Senate. To unfinished business. (Veto) [SB21 Detail]

Download: California-2009-SB21-Amended.html

---

BILL NUMBER: SB 21	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 10, 2010
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JANUARY 25, 2010
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 25, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Simitian

                        DECEMBER 1, 2008

   An act to add Section 5523 to the Fish and Game Code, relating to
fishing.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 21, as amended, Simitian. Fishing gear.
   Existing law grants to the Fish and Game Commission powers
relating to the protection and propagation of fish and game. Existing
law establishes the Department of Fish and Game in the Resources
Agency, and generally charges the department with the administration
and enforcement of the Fish and Game Code. The department administers
a commercial fishing licensing program and carries out various other
functions relating to fishing.  Existing law establishes the
Ocean Protection Council and requires the council, among other
things, to coordinate activities of state agencies, that are related
to the protection and conservation of coastal waters and ocean
ecosystems. 
   This bill would require the department, by January 1, 2012, to
include on all fishing licenses and in all appropriate official
brochures any toll-free telephone  numbers available
  number or numbers, if available,  for the purpose
of reporting derelict fishing gear and any  available
addresses   address or addresses, if available, 
for Internet Web sites that maintain a reporting system for derelict
fishing gear.  The bill would authorize the council to develop
  recommendations for the identification, removal, and
disposal of derelict fishing gear and procedures that enable 
 fishermen and fisheries to voluntarily, recover, remove, and
keep derelict fishing gear. 
   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) Ocean-based sources are a significant source of plastic marine
debris, including lost and abandoned "derelict" fishing gear that
can be dangerous to wildlife, boaters, and divers.
   (b) Fishing gear such as commercial and recreational nets, lines,
traps, pots, and other fishing equipment that is lost or abandoned
may continue to catch marine organisms long after the gear is lost
and may threaten sensitive marine habitats and ecosystems.
   (c) "Ghost fishing," where marine animals are trapped in lost or
abandoned nets or traps, is a leading cause of marine mammal deaths
each year.
   (d) Lost or abandoned nets and gear have been found to drift
thousands of miles trapping and killing fish, turtles, seabirds, and
other marine life.
   (e) Marine debris such as derelict fishing gear has adversely
impacted at least 267 species worldwide through ingestion and
entanglement.
   (f) Fishing nets and fishing gear are often made from synthetic
materials that either take a long time to degrade or may never
degrade.
   (g) Lost fishing gear poses a hazard and economic burden for
boaters and fishing operations and is a safety hazard for surfers,
swimmers, and divers. 
   (h) The economic impact of "ghost fishing" of fish and marine
invertebrates costs fishermen thousands of dollars in lost seafood
revenue. These costs can continue to increase and valuable seafood is
wasted year after year as the derelict fishing gear continues to
ghost fish.  
   (h) 
    (i)    The California Lost Fishing Gear
Recovery Project has developed a strategy to address derelict fishing
gear by working cooperatively with fishermen and local leaders for
the recovery of gear and the prevention of further gear losses.
Through a pilot program for gear removal, the recovery project
retrieved nearly 10 tons of gear from around the Channel Islands in
May 2006. 
   (j) Awareness about the problems caused by derelict fishing gear
should be increased statewide through education, outreach, and
government-industry partnerships. 
  SEC. 2.  Section 5523 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:
   5523.  (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have
the following meanings: 
   (1) "Council" means the Ocean Protection Council established
pursuant to Section 35600 of the Public Resources Code. 

   (1) 
    (2)    "Derelict fishing gear" means lost or
abandoned fishing nets, fishing lines, and other commercial and
recreational fishing equipment, and does not include lost or
abandoned vessels. 
   (2) 
    (3)    "Fishing gear" means fishing nets,
fishing lines, and other commercial and recreational fishing
equipment.
   (b) The department, on or before January 1, 2012, shall include
the following information on all fishing licenses and in all
appropriate official brochures:
   (1) Any toll-free telephone  numbers available 
 number or n   umbers, if available,  for the
purpose of reporting derelict fishing gear.
   (2) Any  available addresses   address or
addresses, if available,  for Internet Web sites that maintain a
reporting system for derelict fishing gear. 
   (c) The council, in conjunction with the Dungeness crab task
force, may develop recommendations for the identification, removal,
and disposal of derelict fishing gear, including recommendations for
tagging fishing gear to aid in the identification of the source of
derelict fishing gear.  
   (d) The council may develop procedures that enable fishermen to
voluntarily recover, remove, and keep on board derelict fishing gear
encountered during the course of normal fishing activities, rather
than return the recovered derelict fishing gear back to the ocean.
These procedures should include a broad approach to address voluntary
derelict fishing gear removal for as many fisheries as is
reasonable, rather than an approach that treats every fishery
individually.