SECTIONS 7060-7062 - California Statutes

FISH AND GAME CODE

SECTION 7060-7062

7060. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that for the purposes
of sustainable fishery management and this part, essential fishery
information is necessary for federally and state-managed marine
fisheries important to the people of this state to provide
sustainable economic and recreational benefits to the people of
California. The Legislature further finds and declares that acquiring
essential fishery information can best be accomplished through the
ongoing cooperation and collaboration of participants in fisheries.
(b) The department, to the extent feasible, shall conduct and
support research to obtain essential fishery information for all
marine fisheries managed by the state.
(c) The department, to the maximum extent practicable and
consistent with Section 7059, shall encourage the participation of
fishermen in fisheries research within a framework that ensures the
objective collection and analysis of data, the collaboration of
fishermen in research design, and the cooperation of fishermen in
carrying out research.
(d) The department may apply for grants to conduct research and
may enter into contracts or issue competitive grants to public or
private research institutions to conduct research.

7062. (a) The department shall establish a program for external
peer review of the scientific basis of marine living resources
management documents. The department, in its discretion and unless
otherwise required by this part, may submit to peer review, documents
that include, but are not limited to, fishery management plans and
plan amendments, marine resource and fishery research plans.
(b) The department may enter into an agreement with one or more
outside entities that are significantly involved with researching and
understanding marine fisheries and are not advocacy organizations.
These entities may include, but not be limited to, the Sea Grant
program of any state, the University of California, the California
State University, the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, or
any other entity approved by the commission to select and administer
peer review panels, as needed. The peer review panels shall be
composed of individuals with technical expertise specific to the
document to be reviewed. The entity with which the department enters
into an agreement for a peer review shall be responsible for the
scientific integrity of the peer review process. Each peer reviewer
may be compensated as needed to ensure competent peer review. Peer
reviewers shall not be employees or officers of the department or the
commission and shall not have participated in the development of the
document to be reviewed.
(c) The external peer review entity, within the timeframe and
budget agreed upon by the department and the external scientific peer
review entity, shall provide the department with the written report
of the peer review panel that contains an evaluation of the
scientific basis of the document. If the report finds that the
department has failed to demonstrate that a scientific portion of the
document is based on sound scientific knowledge, methods, and
practices, the report shall state that finding, and the reasons for
the finding. The department may accept the finding, in whole or in
part, and may revise the scientific portions of the document
accordingly. If the department disagrees with any aspect of the
finding of the external scientific peer review, it shall explain, and
include as part of the record, its basis for arriving at such a
determination in the analysis prepared for the adoption of the final
document, including the reasons why it has determined that the
scientific portions of the document are based on sound scientific
knowledge, methods, or practice. The department shall submit the
external scientific peer review report to the commission with any
peer reviewed document that is to be adopted or approved by the
commission.
(d) The requirements of this section do not apply to any emergency
regulation adopted pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 11346.1 of
the Government Code.
(e) Nothing is this section shall be interpreted, in any way, to
limit the authority of the commission or department to adopt a plan
or regulation.