Commercial fishing.

Existing law regulating commercial fishing imposes, or authorizes the imposition of, various license, permit, and registration fees. Existing law requires specified persons to pay commercial fishing fees, referred to as a "landing tax," calculated on the total weight of fish delivered, based on a rate-per-pound schedule applicable to specified aquatic species. This bill, on January 1, 2011, would repeal that fee requirement and that rate schedule, and, instead, impose a fee calculated as a set percentage of the average ex-vessel price, as defined, established by the Fish and Game Commission for a species of fish. The bill would require the fees to be used by the department for the commercial fishing program pursuant to specified provisions of law. The bill would make conforming changes to refer to the fee as a "landing fee" instead of a "landing tax."