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

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

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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-Introduced.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 21	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


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 introduced, Simitian. Fishing gear.
   (1) 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,
and to establish policies to coordinate the collection and sharing of
scientific data related to coastal and ocean resources between
agencies.
   This bill would require the department, in collaboration with the
council, by January 1, 2011, to recommend to the commission
sustainable funding sources for a program for the prevention of the
loss of fishing gear and for the recovery of derelict fishing gear,
as defined. The department would be required, by January 1, 2011, to
include on all fishing licenses and in all appropriate official
brochures a toll-free telephone number for the purpose of reporting
derelict fishing gear and the address for an Internet Web site that
maintains a reporting system for derelict fishing gear. The bill, on
and after July 1, 2012, would require a person who loses commercial
fishing gear, and certain commercial passenger fishing vessels, to
report, in the manner prescribed by the department, in collaboration
with the council, the location at which the fishing gear was lost,
the name and fishing identification number of the person owning the
fishing gear and of the person fishing with the gear if different
than the owner, and the type of lost fishing gear within 48 hours of
losing the fishing gear and returning to port. By July 1, 2012, the
council would be required to identify and, if funding is available,
establish and maintain, or support, a database of known derelict
fishing gear. The council would be required by January 1, 2013, and
annually thereafter, to take certain action to achieve specified
targets for the removal and disposal of derelict fishing gear. On and
after July 1, 2012, all traps and trawl nets deployed in the waters
of the state would be required to be tagged or coded, in the manner
prescribed by the department, in collaboration with the council, with
specified information to aid in the identification of the source of
any derelict fishing gear. The bill would provide that, if the
department does not have sufficient personnel to carry out any of
these provisions, the department would be authorized to contract with
appropriate parties for those services if funds are available for
that purpose.
   Because, under existing law, a violation of these provisions would
be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
   (2) 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.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


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 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.
  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) "Commercial fishing gear" means fishing gear used by a
commercial fisherman who has a valid, unrevoked commercial fishing
license issued pursuant to Section 7850.
   (2) "Commercial passenger fishing vessel" means a boat from which
persons are allowed to sport fish pursuant to a commercial fishing
license.
   (3) "Council" means the Ocean Protection Council.
   (4) "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.
   (5) "Fishing gear" means fishing nets, fishing lines, and other
commercial and recreational fishing equipment.
   (b) The department may apply for, and accept, funds from local,
state, federal, and private sources to establish and implement a
fishing gear loss prevention and derelict fishing gear recovery
program, or to facilitate and support an existing program.
   (c) The department, in collaboration with the council, on or
before January 1, 2011, shall recommend to the commission sustainable
funding sources for a fishing gear loss prevention and derelict
fishing gear recovery program. The recommended funding sources may
include, but are not limited to, the adoption of fees, and the
imposition of penalties on persons having significant and chronic
gear loss and those failing to report lost gear pursuant to
subdivision (e), to assist in defraying the cost of the program.
   (d) The department, on or before January 1, 2011, shall include
the following information on all fishing licenses and in all
appropriate official brochures:
   (1) A toll-free telephone number for the purpose of reporting
derelict fishing gear.
   (2) The address for an Internet Web site that maintains a
reporting system for derelict fishing gear.
   (e) On and after July 1, 2012, a person who loses commercial
fishing gear, and a commercial passenger fishing vessel operator on
which vessel five or more passengers have lost fishing gear at the
same location, within the waters of the state and offshore shall
report, in the manner that the department, in collaboration with the
council, shall prescribe, the location at which the fishing gear was
lost, including latitude and longitude, the name and fishing
identification number of the person owning the fishing gear and of
the person fishing with the gear if different than the owner, and the
type of lost fishing gear within 48 hours of losing the fishing gear
and returning to port.
   (f) On or before July 1, 2012, the council shall identify and, if
funding is available, establish and maintain, or support, a database
of known derelict fishing gear, including the location and type of
derelict fishing gear. The council shall identify on an Internet Web
site areas in which large amounts of derelict fishing gear have been
abandoned.
   (g) On or before January 1, 2013, and annually thereafter, the
council shall prioritize the derelict fishing gear that has been
reported and identified for removal and disposal, to achieve the
target reductions for derelict fishing gear removal and disposal
established by the council pursuant to Section 35615 of the Public
Resources Code.
   (h) On and after July 1, 2012, all traps and trawl nets deployed
in waters of the state shall be tagged or coded in the manner that
the department, in collaboration with the council, shall prescribe
with the owner's fishing identification number to aid in the
identification of the source of derelict fishing gear.
   (i) If the department does not have sufficient personnel available
to carry out any of the provisions of this section, the department
may contract with appropriate parties for those services if funds are
available for that purpose.
  SEC. 3.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B 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 XIII B of the California
Constitution.