Commercial fishing: Dungeness crab.

(1) Existing law authorizes the Director of the Department of Fish and Game to authorize one or more operators of commercial fishing vessels to take and land a limited number of Dungeness crab for the purpose of quality testing, as provided. Existing law prohibits the department from approving a testing program unless it is funded by the entity authorized to conduct the testing program and prohibits the sale of the crab taken for testing. Those provisions become inoperative on April 1, 2019, and are repealed on January 1, 2020. This bill would delete the above prohibitions, and, instead, would specifically authorize the sale of tested crab meat and the use of sale revenues for purposes of managing the testing program. The bill would require that the sale revenues be deposited in an account managed and overseen by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission. The bill would require the department, in consultation with specified entities, to develop suggested guidelines for the management of the funds from the sale, among other guidelines. (2) Existing law requires the director to adopt a program, as provided, for Dungeness crab trap limits for all California permits, that includes 7 tiers of Dungeness crab trap limits based on all California landings receipts under California permits, as specified. Existing law authorizes an individual to submit an appeal of a trap tag allocation by March 31, 2014, as provided. Existing law requires the individual requesting the appeal to pay all expenses, including a nonrefundable filing fee, as determined by the department, to pay for the department's reasonable costs associated with the appeal that is heard and decided by an administrative law judge. Those provisions become inoperative on April 1, 2019, and are repealed on January 1, 2020. This bill would authorize any Dungeness crab permitholder to apply to the administrative law judge for a waiver of these appeal fees. The bill would authorize the administrative law judge to consider certain factors when making this determination, including medical hardship. This bill would require the department to decide an appeal to revise downward a trap tag allocation. (3) Existing law regulating the Dungeness crab fishery permits the owner of a vessel to whom a Dungeness crab vessel permit has been issued, upon the written approval of the department, to temporarily transfer the permit to another replacement vessel for which use in the Dungeness crab fishery is not permitted, for a period of not more than 6 months during the current permit year, under specified circumstances. Existing law also permits the transfer of a permit to another vessel in the event of loss or destruction of a permitted vessel, within 2 years after the loss or damage of the original vessel. This bill would require the owner of a vessel to whom a Dungeness crab vessel permit has been issued to have had California Dungeness crab landings made with trap gear documented on department landing receipts and to have had California Dungeness crab landings of not less than 5,000 pounds cumulative for the past 2 Dungeness crab seasons to translate the permit. The bill also would require the replacement vessel to be equivalent in size and capacity, as specified, to the vessel from which the permit is transferred. The bill would require specified proof of loss, theft, damage, mechanical breakdown, or destruction to be submitted for a vessel permit to be transferred. This bill would require a vessel owner to sign an application for transfer and certify that the information included is true to the best of his or her information and belief. By expanding the definition of the crime of perjury, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (4) Existing law regulating commercial fishing traps makes it unlawful, except as specified, to willfully or recklessly disturb, move, or damage any trap that belongs to another person and that is marked with a buoy identification number. This bill would authorize the department, in consultation with the Dungeness Crab Task Force, to develop regulations as necessary to provide for the retrieval of lost or abandoned commercial crab traps. Those provisions would become inoperative on April 1, 2019, and would be repealed on January 1, 2020. (5) Existing law authorizes expenditures from the fish and wildlife propagation fund of any county to be made for specified purposes, including for reasonable administrative costs, as provided. Existing law defines "reasonable cost" as an amount that does not exceed 3% of the average amount received by the fund during the previous 3-year period, or $3,000 annually, whichever is greater, as provided. This bill would instead define "reasonable cost" as an amount that does not exceed 15% of the average amount received by the fund during the previous 3-year period, or $10,000 annually, whichever is greater. (6) Existing law requires the department to charge a specified fee for each Dungeness crab vessel permit and for certain transfers of permits for the reasonable regulatory costs of the department. This bill would provide for these fees for each transfer of a permit. (7) 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. (8) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.