Proposed Regulations: Lost or Abandoned Dungeness Crab Trap Gear Retrieval Program

Notice of Approved Amendment to 132.7, Title 14, California Code of Regulations, Lost or Abandoned Dungeness Crab Trap Gear Retrieval Program

March 3, 2020

The Office of Administrative Law has approved an amendment to Section 132.7, Lost or Abandoned Dungeness Crab Trap Gear Retrieval Program, The approved amendment to Section 132.7, in accordance with Section 100, Title 1, California Code of Regulations (CCR), Changes Without Regulatory Effect, adds a clause in subsection 132.7(f) establishing an alternative start date to the retrieval season, consistent with the new language in FGC Section 9002.5(b)(1)(A)(ii). The following document will be available for public review for 6 months, until September 5, 2020.


Final Approval to: Amend Section 132.2, Waiver for a Vessel to Retrieve a Permitted Dungeness Crab Vessel’s Dungeness Crab Traps; Add Section 132.7, Lost or Abandoned Dungeness Crab Trap Gear Retrieval Program; Amend Section 705, Commercial Fishing Applications, Permits, Tags and Fees; Title 14, California Code of Regulations.

September 30, 2019

The Office of Administrative Law has approved the Department’s (OAL Notice File No. Z-2019-0917-02SR) rulemaking to: Amend Section 132.2, Waiver for a Vessel to Retrieve a Permitted Dungeness Crab Vessel’s Dungeness Crab Traps; Add Section 132.7, Lost or Abandoned Dungeness Crab Trap Gear Retrieval Program; and, Amend Section 705, Commercial Fishing Applications, Permits, Tags and Fees; Title 14, California Code of Regulations.

The final rulemaking file consists of the following documents:


Second Mailing of 15-day Continuation Notice RE: Lost or Abandoned Dungeness Crab Trap Gear Retrieval Program

August 31, 2019

On August 19, 2019, the Department of Fish and Wildlife sent a “15-Day Continuation Notice Re: § 132.7 Lost or Abandoned Dungeness Crab Trap Gear Retrieval Program” to interested parties describing corrections the Department made its proposed regulations for the gear retrieval program, and explaining that the comment period on the changes ends on September 3, 2019.

It recently came to the Department’s attention that due to an oversight, the Department’s August 19, 2019 notice was not sent to some interested parties. The purpose of this second mailing is to correct the oversight by ensuring that all interested parties receive the same notice and have at least 15 days to comment on the changes described therein. The second mailing notice is below. It is identical to the August 19, 2019 notice except the planned effective date has been changed to September 20, 2019, and the closing date of the comment period has been changed to September 14, 2019 for all interested parties.

All written comments must be received by the Department via mail, or e-mail, no later than Saturday, September 14, 2019, to:

California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Marine Region
Attn: Morgan Ivens-Duran, Environmental Scientist
20 Lower Ragsdale Blvd., Suite 100
Monterey, CA 93940
Email: Morgan.Ivens-Duran@wildlife.ca.gov


15-day Continuation Notice RE: Lost or Abandoned Dungeness Crab Trap Gear Retrieval Program

August 19, 2019

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Department of Fish and Wildlife has made changes to the Amended Notice (OAL Register Z-2019-0201-01; and, Z-2019-0430-02):

  • Subsection (c): the applicant for trap gear retrieval is advised of the required forms and that the forms will be available online at www.wildlife.ca.gov.
    • (c)(1)(B) retrieval permittees must have a formal structure in the form of a written charter or a governing board.
    • (c)(1)(C) “government entity” has been changed to “Local agency” and “District “within the meaning of California law.
    • (c)(2) and (3) Form numbers have been added to the text to better clarify which form is to accompany the required fee.
  • Corrections made to the text references to form date and on all the forms to clarify the date of amendment.
  • Forms: Certification of information provided to the Department must be correct and true under penalty of perjury.

After consideration of all public comments, objections, and recommendations regarding the proposed action, the Department may adopt the proposed regulations.

The current rulemaking file for this proposal consists of the following documents:


Re-Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Lost or Abandoned Dungeness Crab Trap Gear Retrieval Program

May 10, 2019

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Department of Fish and Wildlife (Department) has made changes to the original Notice (Z-2019-0201-01) which follows:

Section 132.2, Title 14, CCR is proposed for additional amendment in subsections limiting specified derelict trap gear retrieval to Dungeness crab permitted vessels. Section 132.7, Title 14, CCR is proposed for amendment modifying the requirement for use of certified mail. Amendments are proposed to form DFW1059 (allowing logbooks to be submitted within a specified time period, correcting the spelling of “USCG” in item 1, and updating the regulatory section referenced in item 13 to align with the amended text of Section 132.7, Title 14, CCR) and form DFW1078a (adding in the fee specified in Section 705, Title 14, CCR and correcting an incorrect reference to the Fish and Game Commission).

After consideration of all public comments, objections, and recommendations regarding the proposed action, the Department may adopt the proposed regulations.

Public Hearing

The Department will hold a second public hearing regarding the amended proposed regulations on:

Date: June 25, 2019
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m.
Location: California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Monterey Office Large Conference Room
20 Lower Ragsdale Drive, Suite 100, Monterey, California

The Conference Room is wheelchair accessible. At the public hearing, any person may present statements or arguments orally or in writing relevant to the proposed action described in the Informative Digest. The Department requests, but does not require, that the persons who make oral comments at the hearing also submit a written copy of their testimony at the hearing.

The current rulemaking file for this proposal consists of the following documents:


Amend Section 132.2, Waiver for a Vessel to Retrieve a Permitted Dungeness Crab Vessel’s Dungeness Crab Traps; Add Section 132.7, Lost or Abandoned Dungeness Crab Trap Gear Retrieval Program; Amend Section 705, Commercial Fishing Applications, Permits, Tags and Fees; Title 14, California Code of Regulations

February 14, 2019

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Department of Fish and Wildlife (Department) proposes to adopt regulations implementing the program described in Section 9002.5 of the Fish and Game Code. Section 9002.5 authorizes the Department to establish a program which incentivizes the removal of commercial Dungeness crab trap gear that remains in the ocean after the end of the fishing season, reducing whale entanglement risk, other threats to marine life, and navigational hazards.

The program would rely on Retrieval Permittees to ensure that retrieval operations are conducted by competent individuals, and to negotiate with Responsible Vessel Permitholders to return the trap gear upon appropriate reimbursement for costs incurred during gear retrieval operations.

After consideration of all public comments, objections, and recommendations regarding the proposed action, the Department may adopt the proposed regulations.

Public Hearing

The Department will hold a public hearing on:

Date: April 2, 2019
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Location: State Office Justice Joseph A. Rattigan Building
Conference Room 405 (Fourth Floor)
50 D Street, Santa Rosa, California

The Conference Room is wheelchair accessible. At the public hearing, any person may present statements or arguments orally or in writing relevant to the proposed action described in the Informative Digest. The Department requests, but does not require, that the persons who make oral comments at the hearing also submit a written copy of their testimony at the hearing.

The current rulemaking file for this proposal consists of the following documents: