SECTIONS 7055-7059 - California Statutes

FISH AND GAME CODE

SECTION 7055-7059

7055. The Legislature finds and declares that it is the policy of
the state that:
(a) California's marine sport and commercial fisheries, and the
resources upon which they depend, are important to the people of the
state and, to the extent practicable, shall be managed in accordance
with the policies and other requirements of this part in order to
assure the long-term economic, recreational, ecological, cultural,
and social benefits of those fisheries and the marine habitats on
which they depend.
(b) Programs for the conservation and management of the marine
fishery resources of California shall be established and administered
to prevent overfishing, to rebuild depressed stocks, to ensure
conservation, to facilitate long-term protection and, where feasible,
restoration of marine fishery habitats, and to achieve the
sustainable use of the state's fishery resources.
(c) Where a species is the object of sportfishing, a sufficient
resource shall be maintained to support a reasonable sport use,
taking into consideration the necessity of regulating individual
sport fishery bag limits to the quantity that is sufficient to
provide a satisfying sport.
(d) The growth of commercial fisheries, including distant-water
fisheries, shall be encouraged.

7056. In order to achieve the primary fishery management goal of
sustainability, every sport and commercial marine fishery under the
jurisdiction of the state shall be managed under a system whose
objectives include all of the following:
(a) The fishery is conducted sustainably so that long-term health
of the resource is not sacrificed in favor of short-term benefits. In
the case of a fishery managed on the basis of maximum sustainable
yield, management shall have optimum yield as its objective.
(b) The health of marine fishery habitat is maintained and, to the
extent feasible, habitat is restored, and where appropriate, habitat
is enhanced.
(c) Depressed fisheries are rebuilt to the highest sustainable
yields consistent with environmental and habitat conditions.
(d) The fishery limits bycatch to acceptable types and amounts, as
determined for each fishery.
(e) The fishery management system allows fishery participants to
propose methods to prevent or reduce excess effort in marine
fisheries.
(f) Management of a species that is the target of both sport and
commercial fisheries or of a fishery that employs different gears is
closely coordinated.
(g) Fishery management decisions are adaptive and are based on the
best available scientific information and other relevant information
that the commission or department possesses or receives, and the
commission and department have available to them essential fishery
information on which to base their decisions.
(h) The management decisionmaking process is open and seeks the
advice and assistance of interested parties so as to consider
relevant information, including local knowledge.
(i) The fishery management system observes the long-term interests
of people dependent on fishing for food, livelihood, or recreation.
(j) The adverse impacts of fishery management on small-scale
fisheries, coastal communities, and local economies are minimized.
(k) Collaborative and cooperative approaches to management,
involving fishery participants, marine scientists, and other
interested parties are strongly encouraged, and appropriate
mechanisms are in place to resolve disputes such as access,
allocation, and gear conflicts.
(l) The management system is proactive and responds quickly to
changing environmental conditions and market or other socioeconomic
factors and to the concerns of fishery participants.
(m) The management system is periodically reviewed for
effectiveness in achieving sustainability goals and for fairness and
reasonableness in its interaction with people affected by management.

7058. Any fishery management regulation adopted by the commission
shall, to the extent practicable, conform to the policies of Sections
7055 and 7056.

7059. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) Successful marine life and fishery management is a
collaborative process that requires a high degree of ongoing
communication and participation of all those involved in the
management process, particularly the commission, the department, and
those who represent the people and resources that will be most
affected by fishery management decisions, especially fishery
participants and other interested parties.
(2) In order to maximize the marine science expertise applied to
the complex issues of marine life and fishery management, the
commission and the department are encouraged to continue to, and to
find creative new ways to, contract with or otherwise effectively
involve Sea Grant staff, marine scientists, economists, collaborative
factfinding process and dispute resolution specialists, and others
with the necessary expertise at colleges, universities, private
institutions, and other agencies.
(3) The benefits of the collaborative process required by this
section apply to most marine life and fishery management activities
including, but not limited to, the development and implementation of
research plans, marine managed area plans, fishery management plans,
and plan amendments, and the preparation of fishery status reports
such as those required by Section 7065.
(4) Because California is a large state with a long coast, and
because travel is time consuming and costly, the involvement of
interested parties shall be facilitated, to the extent practicable,
by conducting meetings and discussions in the areas of the coast and
in ports where those most affected are concentrated.
(b) In order to fulfill the intent of subdivision (a), the
commission and the department shall do all of the following:
(1) Periodically review marine life and fishery management
operations with a view to improving communication, collaboration, and
dispute resolution, seeking advice from interested parties as part
of the review.
(2) Develop a process for the involvement of interested parties
and for factfinding and dispute resolution processes appropriate to
each element in the marine life and fishery management process.
Models to consider include, but are not limited to, the take
reduction teams authorized under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (16
U.S.C. Sec. 1361 et seq.) and the processes that led to improved
management in the California herring, sea urchin, prawn, angel shark,
and white seabass fisheries.
(3) Consider the appropriateness of various forms of fisheries
comanagement, which involves close cooperation between the department
and fishery participants, when developing and implementing fishery
management plans.
(4) When involving fishery participants in the management process,
give particular consideration to the gear used, involvement of sport
or commercial sectors or both sectors, and the areas of the coast
where the fishery is conducted in order to ensure adequate
involvement.