SECTIONS 8601-8609 - California Statutes

FISH AND GAME CODE

SECTION 8601-8609

8601. Any net or line used to take fish that is anchored to the
bottom on each end and is not free to drift with the tide or current
is a set net or set line. Any net so placed that it will catch or
impound fish within a bight, bay, or estuary, or against the shore
upon the receding of the tide is a set net. Fyke nets, shrimp nets,
or crab nets are not set nets.

8601.5. (a) Set nets and set lines shall be marked at both ends
with buoys displaying above their waterlines, in numerals at least 2
inches high, the fisherman's identification number.
(b) Each piece or panel of a set net shall be marked along the
corkline of the net, in a manner determined by the department to
adequately identify the net, with the fisherman's identification
number. The distance between the markings shall not exceed 45
fathoms. If the lost or abandoned net is recovered by the department
or persons designated by the department, the commission may require
the owner of the lost or abandoned net to pay for all recovery costs.
The commission may revoke the owner's set net permit issued pursuant
to Section 8681 for failure to comply with this subdivision.
(c) If a person is unable to recover a set net or portion of a set
net, the person shall contact one of the department offices located
in the City of Belmont, Monterey, Los Alamitos, or San Diego, not
later than 72 hours after returning to port following the loss and
shall report all of the following information:
(1) The date and time when the set net was lost.
(2) The location, including depth, where the net was lost.
(3) A description of the lost net, including the mesh size,
length, height, and target species, and whether anchors remain
attached to the net.
(4) The name and fisherman's identification number of the person
owning the net.
(5) The name and fisherman's identification number of the person
fishing with the net, if different from paragraph (4).
(6) The name and California Fish and Game number of the vessel
from which the lost net was being fished.

8601.6. (a) The footrope (leadline) of any set net shall have a
breaking strength of at least 50 pounds less than the combined
breaking strength of the headrope and corkline.
(b) This section shall become operative on August 15, 1990.

8602. The length of the meshes of any net shall be determined by
taking at least four meshes and measuring them inside the knots or,
in the case of knotless nets, inside the points at which the meshes
are joined while they are simultaneously drawn closely together.

8603. It is unlawful to use or operate or assist in using or
operating any net, trap, line, spear, or appliance, other than in
connection with angling, in taking fish, except as provided in this
chapter or Chapter 4 of this part.

8604. It is unlawful willfully to disturb or injure any net, trap,
or other apparatus to take fish which is being legally used in the
waters of this state.
This section does not apply to employees of the department while
they are engaged in the performance of their official duties.

8605. The department or any person authorized by it may use any net
or other appliance in any district for the purpose of recovering
fish from overflowed areas or landlocked sloughs or ponds where they
have been left isolated by receding streams or floodwaters.

8606. (a) The commission shall encourage the development of new
types of commercial fishing gear and new methods of using existing
commercial fishing gear by approving permits to be issued by the
department, consistent with the policies set forth in Section 1700,
for that development or use, subject to the following restrictions:
(1) A permit is subject to those conditions that the commission
deems necessary to ensure the proper utilization and protection of
the marine resources, and to minimize user group and resource
allocation conflicts.
(2) A permit is valid for a period of not more than one year, but
may be renewed until the Legislature approves or disapproves the
permanent use or type of gear pursuant to subdivision (c).
(3) A permit shall be revoked if the continued use would have an
adverse impact on any resource, allocation of a resource, or other
adverse impact to established fisheries.
(b) A permit may authorize the use of new types of commercial
fishing gear and new methods of using existing gear otherwise
prohibited by this code and may authorize that use or the use of
existing gear in areas otherwise closed to that use by this code.
(c) The commission shall not authorize the issuance of
experimental gear permits concerning the use of a gear type in an
area, or portion of an area, for more than four consecutive years.
This subdivision applies to all experimental gear permits, whether
issued prior to or after January 1, 1992.
(d) Commencing January 1, 1993, the commission shall not authorize
the renewal of experimental gear permits originally issued prior to
January 1, 1990, but, notwithstanding this subdivision and
subdivision (c), may extend all experimental gear permits in
existence on the effective date of the act that amended this section
during the 1991 portion of the 1991-92 Regular Session of the
Legislature to December 31, 1992, regardless of how many years they
have been issued.

8606.1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that the use of
nearshore trawl nets was authorized through the experimental gear
permit process and the alternative gear development program as a
potential alternative to the use of gill and trammel nets in areas
where the use of that gear type has been prohibited.
(b) The Legislature, in considering the needs of user groups,
requires the use of nearshore trawl nets to be phased out effective
January 1, 1993.

8607. It is unlawful for any person possessing or operating any
type of net, trap, or line that is subject to federal groundfish
regulations adopted pursuant to the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (16 U.S.C., Sec. 1801 et seq.) to possess or land any
load of fish in violation of those federal groundfish regulations.

8608. Notwithstanding Sections 8660, 8665, 8724, and 8780, the
commission may, after a public hearing, when it determines that it is
in the best interests of the state's marine resources and fisheries,
adopt regulations, authorizing the use of nets not less than 75 feet
from any private pier, wharf, jetty, breakwater, or dock, and
restricting the use of the nets within 750 feet of any public pier.
However, nothing in this section authorizes the commission to adopt
regulations which would extend beyond the maximum of 750 feet the
area in which the use of nets is prohibited, as specified in Sections
8660, 8665, 8724, and 8780, or which would prohibit the use of any
nets within 75 feet of any private pier, wharf, jetty, breakwater, or
dock if that use of the net is permitted by law.

8609. The Legislature finds and declares that:
(a) The central California nearshore gill and trammel net
fisheries for California halibut (Paralichthys californicus) and
white croaker (Genyonemus lineatus) and the use of gill nets in these
fisheries are expanding at a rapid rate.
(b) The incidental take of certain species of seabirds and marine
mammals in set gill and trammel nets could be increasing to a level
which may be adversely impacting the viability of the populations of
nontarget species.