SECTIONS 6440-6460 - California Statutes

FISH AND GAME CODE

SECTION 6440-6460

6440. The Legislature finds and declares that triploid grass carp
have the potential to control aquatic nuisance plants in non-public
waters allowing for reduced chemical control but that the threat that
grass carp pose to aquatic habitat may outweigh its benefits. It is
the intent of this section to allow the Department of Fish and Game
to use its management authority to provide for the long-term health
of the ecosystem in the state including the aquatic ecosystem, and in
that context, manage grass carp either through control of movement,
eradication of populations, acquisition of habitat and any other
action that the department finds will maintain the biological
diversity and the long term, overall health of the state's
environment. The department shall undertake the management of grass
carp in a manner that is consistent with provisions of this code and
for the purposes of this section the department shall define
management as handling, controlling, destroying, or moving species.
The Legislature does not intend for this section to provide a right
for the use of triploid grass carp if the department finds that use
of the species poses an unacceptable risk to the state's existing
ecosystem.

6450. The department shall adopt regulations that provide for the
control of aquatic plant pests using artificially introduced triploid
grass carp under a permit issued by the department. The regulations
shall do all of the following:
(a) Restrict triploid grass carp introductions to those triploid
grass carp that have been rendered sterile immediately after the eggs
have been fertilized.
(b) Require individual fish to be checked to ensure that a third,
triploid, set of chromosomes has been retained, preventing further
reproduction by that individual fish.
(c) Limit aquatic plant pest control programs using triploid grass
carp to the use of sterile triploid grass carp with documented
certification of triploidy to ensure sterility.
(d) Require the identification by tagging of individual fish as
the property of each owner.
(e) Require the posting of notices at stocked bodies of water
declaring the penalties for removing triploid grass carp.
(f) Limit the permits for the use of triploid grass carp in waters
on golf courses located in residential areas to those waters that
are determined by the department to be secure from the removal of
triploid grass carp to unauthorized waters.
(g) Provide for management of the triploid grass carp populations
in a manner consistent with the provisions of this code where the
department finds that such actions will benefit the long-term health
of the state's biodiversity as a whole.
(h) Until January 1, 1999, the regulations shall not authorize the
issuance of permits for the use of triploid grass carp in waters
located within condominium areas of any residential area for which a
permit may not be issued pursuant to subdivision (f) except at three
locations within the area authorized pursuant to this subdivision.
The three locations shall be selected by the department in
consultation with the Imperial Irrigation District. The limitation to
three locations is necessary to enable monitoring of human-induced
movement of triploid grass carp to unauthorized waters and to permit
the evaluation of the impact of the experiment.

6451. All providers of triploid grass carp for use under this
article shall provide certification acceptable to the department of
triploidy and disease-free conditions for all fish introduced.

6452. Prior to receiving a permit from the department to use
triploid grass carp, the potential user shall provide to the
department all of the information required by the department,
including, but not limited to, the following:
(a) The type of waterway to be stocked.
(b) The site has no connections to adjacent fresh water systems.
(c) All aquatic plant management problems, including, but not
limited to, the following:
(1) The acres of aquatic plants, by species, at the peak of
growing season.
(2) The desired vegetation quantity or coverage.
(3) The number and size of triploid grass carp recommended.
(4) All sensitive plant or animal species within the waterway to
be stocked and any connected waterways.

6453. (a) On or before March 1 of each year following the first
year after triploid grass carp introduction, the permittee shall
provide to the department all of the information required by the
department, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) The number and size of triploid grass carp recommended for the
waterway stocked.
(2) The number and size of triploid grass carp stocked in the
waterway.
(3) The acres of aquatic plants, by species, at the peak of the
growing season in the year prior to introduction of triploid grass
carp in the waterway stocked.
(4) The acres of aquatic plants, by species, at the peak of the
current year growing season.
(b) The annual report shall be submitted until five years after
the use of triploid grass carp to control aquatic plant pests is
terminated, unless evidence acceptable to the department is provided
that all triploid grass carp have been removed from the waterway.

6454. The department shall establish permit and inspection fees
sufficient to recover, but not exceed, the initial and ongoing costs
of the program under this article.

6455. The department shall impose conditions in the permit to use
triploid grass carp under this article that it finds necessary to
prevent escape of the triploid grass carp from the targeted area. The
conditions shall include, but are not limited to, the following:
(a) No permit shall be issued for the use of triploid grass carp
in waters with an open fresh water connection to other waters of the
state.
(b) Any waters in which triploid grass carp are used under this
article shall be under the control of the permittee. In addition,
barriers to fish movement acceptable to the department shall be in
place before introduction of triploid grass carp under this article.
Movement of triploid grass carp to areas outside the control of the
permittee is prohibited.
(c) Any waters in which triploid grass carp are used under this
article shall have sufficient dissolved oxygen and suitable
vegetation for consumption to sustain the introduced triploid grass
carp, as determined by the department.
(d) Except within closed basins, including the Salton Sea, no
permit shall be issued for the use of triploid grass carp within the
100-year flood plain.
(e) Any person or persons engaging in the introduction of triploid
grass carp into any area, or in the transfer of triploid grass carp
from one site to another, without a permit from the department shall
be punished by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars
($5,000), by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one
year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

6456. Nothing in this article shall be construed as restricting
grass carp programs approved by the department on or before June 1,
1995.

6457. Because of its experience and continuing involvement with
hydrilla control programs, the implementation of Sections 6450 and
6454 shall be carried out in consultation with the Department of Food
and Agriculture.

6460. If the department obtains documented and verifiable evidence
of escapements of triploid grass carp permitted under this article
into unauthorized waters, the unauthorized use of grass carp, or
threats to fish and wildlife and their habitats as the result of this
program, it may, upon a written finding by the director to that
effect, suspend the permit issuance process authorized by this
article. If the situation is local, the suspension may be limited to
that area whose waters, habitat, and fish and wildlife resources are
threatened. The suspension shall last until the director makes a
written finding that the threat has been abated.