Fish: licenses: trout hatcheries.

Existing law requires 3313% of the fees derived from the issuance of sport fishing licenses, with certain exceptions, to be deposited into the Hatchery and Inland Fisheries Fund within the State Treasury. Moneys in the fund may be expended, upon appropriation, in support of Department of Fish and Game programs related to the management, maintenance, and capital improvement of California's fish hatcheries, the Heritage and Wild Trout Program, enforcement activities, and other activities eligible to be funded from revenue generated by sport fishing license fees. Existing law requires that those fund moneys be used for specified purposes, including the attainment of prescribed fish production and release goals for state hatcheries. This bill would authorize the department, if those goals are not projected to be met by state hatcheries, and contingent upon a specified inspection and determination by the department, to contract with privately owned hatcheries to procure up to 20% of the pounds of fish necessary to meet the goals. The bill would require a report required by existing law to contain specified information relating to the fund.