California Code of Regulations › Title 14 - Natural Resources › Division 1 - Fish and Game Commission-Department of Fish and Game › Subdivision 1 - Fish, Amphibians and Reptiles › Chapter 6 - Fish, Commercial › Section 159 - Commercial Fishing for Coastal Pelagic Species

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a)
				  General provisions. No person shall engage in commercial fishing for coastal
				  pelagic species (CPS) except as provided by the Fish and Game Code and
				  regulations provided herein. Applicable regulations adopted by the U.S.
				  Secretary of Commerce pursuant to the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and
				  Management Act and published in Title 50, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR),
				  Parts 600 and 660 are hereby incorporated and made a part of these regulations.
				  Federal regulations shall be made available upon request from the Department of
				  Fish and Game, Marine Region, 1416 Ninth Street, Box 944209, Sacramento, CA
				  94244-2090, phone number 916-653-6281.
(b) General Definitions. For purposes of
				  these regulations, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)
Actively managed species
				  (AMS).
Those CPS for which the Secretary has determined that harvest
				  guidelines or quotas are needed by Federal management according to the
				  provision of the federal CPS Fishery Management Plan.
(2)
Advisory Subpanel (AP).
The Coastal Pelagic Species Advisory Subpanel that comprises members of the
				  fishing industry and public appointed by the Council to review proposed actions
				  for managing the coastal pelagic fisheries.
(3)
Biomass.
The estimated
				  amount, by weight, of a coastal pelagic species population. The term biomass
				  means total biomass (age 1 and above) unless stated otherwise.
(4)
Closure.
Taking and
				  retaining, possessing, or landing the particular species or species group is
				  prohibited. Unless otherwise announced in the Federal Register, offloading must
				  begin before the time the fishery closes.
(5)
Coastal pelagic species
				  (CPS).
Includes northern anchovy (
Engraulis mordax
),
				  Pacific mackerel (
Scomber japonicus
), Pacific sardine
				  (
Sardinops sagax
), jack mackerel (
Trachurus
				  symmetricus
), and market squid (
Doryteuthis
				  opalescens
).
(6)
Coastal Pelagic Species Management Team (CPSMT).
The
				  individuals appointed by the Council to review, analyze, and develop management
				  measures for the CPS fishery.
(7)
Council.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council, including its
				  CPSMT, AP, Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), and any other committee
				  established by the Council.
(8)
Federally Designated Routine Management Measures.
Routine
				  Management Measures, identified as catch restrictions intended to keep landings
				  within the harvest levels announced by the Secretary of Commerce and noticed in
				  the Federal Register by the National Marine Fisheries Service, are hereby
				  incorporated and made a part of these regulations. Should any federal
				  management measures conflict with existing statutes, including Fish and Game
				  Code Sections
				  8496
				  and
				  8842(b),
				  or regulations of the commission, the provisions in the statutes or regulations
				  which conflict with the federal management measures are made
				  inoperative.
(9)
Finfish.
For the purpose of this section only, finfish
				  includes northern anchovy, Pacific mackerel, Pacific sardine, and jack
				  mackerel, but excludes market squid.
(10)
Fishery Management
				  Area.
The EEZ off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California
				  between 3 and 200 nautical miles offshore, bounded in the north by the
				  Provisional International Boundary between the United States and Canada, and
				  bounded in the south by the International Boundary between the United States
				  and Mexico.
(11)
Fishing
				  trip.
A period of time between landings when fishing is
				  conducted.
(12)
Harvest
				  guideline.
A specified numerical harvest objective that is not a
				  quota. Attainment of a harvest guideline does not require complete closure of a
				  fishery.
(13)
Harvesting
				  vessel.
A vessel involved in the attempt or actual catching, taking or
				  harvesting of fish, or any activity that can reasonably be expected to result
				  in the catching, taking or harvesting of fish.
(14)
Land
or
Landing.
To begin transfer of fish from a fishing vessel. Once
				  transfer begins all fish onboard the vessel are counted as part of the
				  landing.
(15)
Limited entry
				  fishery.
The commercial fishery consisting of vessels fishing for CPS
				  in the CPS Management Zone under limited entry permits issued under §
											660.512.
(16)
Live bait fishery.
Fishing for CPS for use as live bait in other fisheries.
(17)
Monitored species (MS).
Those CPS the Secretary has determined not to need management by harvest
				  guidelines or quotas according to the provisions of the FMP.
(18)
Nonreduction fishery.
Fishing for CPS for use as dead bait or for processing for direct human
				  consumption.
(19)
Owner.
A person who is identified as the current owner in the
				  Certificate of Documentation (CG-1270) issued by the U.S. Coast Guard for a
				  documented vessel, or in a registration certificate issued by a state or the
				  U.S. Coast Guard for an undocumented vessel.
(20)
Person.
Any individual,
				  corporation, partnership, association or other entity (whether or not organized
				  or existing under the laws of any state), and any Federal, state, or local
				  government, or any entity of any such government that is eligible to own a
				  documented vessel under the terms of
				  46 U.S.C.
				  12102(a).
(21)
Processing
or
to process.
Preparing or packaging coastal pelagic species to
				  render the fish suitable for human consumption, pet food, industrial uses or
				  long-term storage, including, but not limited to, cooking, canning, smoking,
				  salting, drying, filleting, freezing, or rendering into meal or oil, but does
				  not mean heading and gutting unless there is additional preparation.
(22)
Prohibited Species.
All
				  species of trout and salmon (
Salmonidae
) and Pacific Halibut
				  (
Hippoglossus stenolepis
).
(23)
Quota.
A specified
				  numerical harvest objective for a single species of CPS, the attainment (or
				  expected attainment) of which causes the complete closure of the fishery for
				  that species.
(24)
Reduction fishery.
Fishing for CPS for the purposes of
				  conversion into fish flour, fish meal, fish scrap, fertilizer, fish oil, other
				  fishery products, or byproducts for purposes other than direct human
				  consumption.
(25)
Regional
				  Administrator.
The Regional Administrator, Southwest Region, NMFS, 501
				  W. Ocean Boulevard, Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213, or a
				  designee.
(26)
Reserve.
A portion of the harvest guideline or quota set aside
				  at the beginning of the year for specific purposes, such as for individual
				  harvesting groups to ensure equitable distribution of the resource or to allow
				  for uncertainties in preseason estimates of DAP and JVP.
(27)
Secretary.
The Federal
				  Secretary of Commerce.
(28)
Sustainable Fisheries Division (SFD).
The Assistant Regional
				  Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Southwest Region, NMFS, or a
				  designee.
(29)
Totally
				  lost.
The vessel being replaced no longer exists
in
				  specie,
or is absolutely and irretrievably sunk or otherwise beyond
				  the possible control of the owner, or the costs of repair (including recovery)
				  would exceed the repaired value of the vessel.
(30)
Trip limit.
The total
				  allowable amount of a CPS species by weight or by percentage of weight of fish
				  on board the vessel that may be taken and retained, possessed, or landed from a
				  single fishing trip by a vessel that harvests CPS.