Bill Text: CA AB2615 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Ocean resources: fishing.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2010-11-30 - From Senate committee without further action. [AB2615 Detail]
Download: California-2009-AB2615-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2615 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 6, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Chesbro
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act to amend Section 35550 of, and to add Section 35618 to, the
Public Resources Code, relating to ocean resources.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2615, as amended, Chesbro. Ocean resources: fishing.
The California Ocean Protection Act establishes the Ocean
Protection Council in state government and provides that the council
consists of the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, the
Secretary for Environmental Protection, the Chair of the State Lands
Commission, and 2 public members appointed by the Governor. The act
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
coast and ocean resources between agencies. The act requires the
council to develop and implement a voluntary sustainable seafood
promotion program. The act also creates the California Ocean
Protection Council Trust Fund in the State
Treasury and authorizes moneys deposited in the fund, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, to be expended by the council for
projects and activities authorized by the council consistent with the
purposes of the act.
This bill , from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2015,
inclusive, would give would declare certain policy
goals of the state and require the council to implement these goals
to the extent they are feasible and consistent with other policy
goals of the state for marine conservation and fisheries management.
The bill would express the intent of the Legislature that the council
give prescribed projects and activities relating to commercial
and recreational fishing the highest priority for assistance
from the council . The bill would define the term
"small boat" for purposes of the act.
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. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) The oceans off the California coast provide its people with a
wealth of ecological resources as well as the business activity,
employment, recreation, and enjoyment generated by the harvest and
consumption of fish and shellfish resources.
(2) This state is a producer and major consumer of fish and
seafood resources.
(3) State fisheries have been at the forefront of efforts to
protect and restore fish stocks and engage in sustainable fishing
practices, and state fish stocks are some of the least exploited fish
and shellfish stocks anywhere in the world.
(4) Access to many of the state's fish stocks for sustainable
harvest may become further restricted by the following:
(A) The lack of development of innovative, new, or modified
fishing gear that reduces the amount of bycatch or facilitates the
safe release of nontarget species in commercial and recreational
fisheries, reduces impacts on marine habitat, or fosters high-value,
low-volume commercial fisheries.
(B) Federal fishery management plans that consolidate the number
of fishing vessels or reduce the number of fishing men and women in
some fisheries, thereby denying fishing communities the ability to
catch, land, and process fish in local ports.
(b) The Legislature further finds and declares that , in
addition to and consistent with the policy goals specified in Part
1.7 (commencing with Section 7050) of Division 6 of the Fish and Game
Code, and Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 35500) of Division 26.5
of the Public Resources Code, the following is
shall be the policy goals of this
state:
(1) To maintain optimal fish and shellfish populations that
support the sustainable harvest of the state's fish and shellfish
resources and provide consumers access to safe and healthful locally
caught seafood.
(2) To promote the development of fishing gear in commercial and
recreational fisheries that reduces bycatch and harmful impacts on
the marine ecosystem through utilization of barbless hooks, where
feasible, promote small boat trawl and seine fishing operations that
operate with lighter fishing nets, minimize loss of fishing gear, and
promote retrieval of lost gear.
(3) To protect the access of California's fishing ports and
harbors to fish and shellfish stocks adjacent to those fishing ports
and harbors for sustainable harvest by their local fishing fleets,
together with the processing of fish and shellfish stocks landed into
those ports and harbors. This policy applies to
state-appointed representatives on federal panels. It
is the intent of the Legislature that state-appointed representatives
to federal panels seek to promote these policy goals.
(4) To protect the access to fisheries of fishing men and women
who traditionally have engaged in those fisheries, maximize
employment opportunities within the fisheries, and promote small boat
commercial fishing operations in high-value, low-volume
. fisheries. This policy shall be
implemented to the extent feasible while recognizing reasonable
biological constraints, and promoting maintenance of optimal fish
populations, sustainable fish harvests, and the economic viability of
fishing operations. This policy applies to state-appointed
representatives on federal panels. It is the intent of
the Legislature that state-appointed representatives to federal
panels seek to promote these policy goals.
(c) The council shall implement the policy goals in this section
to the extent they are feasible and consistent with other policy
goals of the state for marine conservation and fisheries management,
including, but not limited to, promoting long-term sustainability of
California fisheries, protecting the health of marine ecosystems,
conserving biodiversity, and implementing adaptive management based
on best available science.
SEC. 2. Section 35550 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
35550. Unless the context requires otherwise, the following
definitions govern this division:
(a) "Council" means the Ocean Protection Council established
pursuant to Section 35600.
(b) "Fund" means the California Ocean Protection Trust Fund
established pursuant to Section 35650.
(c) "Internationally accepted standards for sustainable seafood"
means standards that meet all of the following criteria:
(1) Meet or exceed the Guidelines for the Ecolabeling of Fish and
Fishery Products from Marine Capture Fisheries promulgated by the
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
(2) Conform to all of the following principles:
(A) A fishery must be conducted in a manner that does not lead to
overfishing or depletion of the exploited populations and, for those
populations that are depleted, the fishery must be conducted in a
manner that demonstrably leads to their recovery.
(B) Fishing operations should allow for the maintenance of the
structure, productivity, function, and diversity of the ecosystem,
including habitat and associated dependent and ecologically related
species on which the fishery depends.
(C) The fishery is subject to an effective management system that
respects local, national, and international laws and standards and
incorporates institutional and operational frameworks that require
use of the resource to be responsible and sustainable.
(d) "Public agency" means a city, county, city and county,
district, or the state or any agency or department of the state.
(e) "Small boat" means any commercial fishing vessel of 52 feet or
less in length.
(f) "Sustainable" and "sustainability" mean both of the following:
(1) Continuous replacement of resources, taking into account
fluctuations in abundance and environmental variability.
(2) Securing the fullest possible range of present and long-term
economic, social, and ecological benefits, while maintaining
biological diversity.
SEC. 3. Section 35618 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
35618. (a) The council shall consult and coordinate with the
Department of Fish and Game, the Fish and Game Commission, and
representatives of the commercial and recreational fishing fleets in
establishing priorities, in addition to those listed in paragraphs
(1) to (8), inclusive, of subdivision (b), for the development of
programs and policies to improve the state's commercial and
recreational fisheries. Tribal fishing representatives shall be
invited to participate in consultations and shall be invited to
coordinate if a tribal fishery may be affected.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, from
January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2015, inclusive, all of the
following projects and activities shall have the highest priority for
assistance from the council:
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the council give
priority assistance to all of the following:
(1) The marketing and certification of California seafood pursuant
to Section 35617, and promotion of seasonal, locally caught seafood.
(2) The establishment of fishery marketing commissions or
councils, for either single species or multiple species, including
the costs associated with the referendum vote for the approval of a
commission or council , for the purpose of obtaining independent
certification for sustainable fisheries .
(3) The establishment of community fishing associations pursuant
to the limited access privilege program of the federal
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C.
Sec. 1801 et seq.) where the sponsors of such an association are
either a group of licensed commercial fishermen, including at least
one licensed fish receiver, a governmental entity within a coastal
community with a fishery or, in unincorporated coastal communities, a
county governmental agency.
(4) The development of fishing gear that minimizes bycatch and
harmful impacts on the marine environment, including approval for
this use from the Fish and Game Commission.
(5) The development of hook-and-line fishing gear for commercial
and recreational fisheries that can be operated without negatively
affecting species of concern within the federal Rockfish Conservation
Zone and other closed federal fishing zones.
(6) The implementation of programs to minimize the loss of fishing
gear, including traps, and programs for the retrieval of lost
fishing gear.
(7) The implementation of collaborative, cooperative research
programs involving licensed commercial and recreational fishing men
and women and their vessels for research, stock assessments, and data
collection related to marine protected areas established pursuant to
the Marine Life Protection Act (Chapter 10.5 (commencing with
Section 2850) of Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code).
(8) The implementation of recommendations developed pursuant to
subdivision (a).
