Cal. Fish & Game Code § 9002.5

(a) Notwithstanding Section 9002, the department, in consultation with the Dungeness crab task force, shall establish a retrieval program to provide for the retrieval of lost or abandoned commercial Dungeness crab traps by June 30, 2019.

(b) The retrieval program developed pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be consistent with all of the following: (1) (A) The department shall establish a retrieval permit that grants a person who obtains a retrieval permit the authority to retrieve Dungeness crab traps located in ocean waters belonging to another person without written permission from that person during both of the following periods of time: (i) The closed season of the Dungeness crab commercial fishery, as described in Section 8276. (ii) A period of time other than the time period described in clause (i) in which the director restricts the take of Dungeness crab pursuant to Section 8276.1 or regulations adopted pursuant to that section, if the director authorizes retrieval permitholders to retrieve traps during that time period. (B) The department may establish any qualifications it deems necessary for a person to obtain a retrieval permit. (C) The department shall require a permit fee in an amount necessary to fully recover, but not exceed, all reasonable administrative and implementation costs to the department of the retrieval program. (2) Notwithstanding Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 2080) of Title 6 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code or any other law, any Dungeness crab trap retrieved under the authority of a retrieval permit shall become the property of the retrieval permitholder. (3) The department shall require a retrieval permitholder to notify the former trap owner of the retrieval of a Dungeness crab trap and to offer to sell the trap to the former owner for a reasonable recovery fee, as determined by the retrieval permitholder, based on the cost of trap retrieval and storage of the trap. The department shall impose per-trap fees on any former trap owner who refuses to pay the recovery fee to the retrieval permitholder. The department shall set the rate of these per-trap fees at a level sufficient to recover any costs to the department from handling noncompliance with the gear retrieval program and to reimburse the retrieval permitholder for the reasonable cost of trap retrieval, storage, and disposal of crab traps belonging to a former owner who refuses to pay the recovery fees for those traps and, upon appropriation by the Legislature, shall use the proceeds of the per-trap fees for these purposes. The department shall annually adjust the per-trap fees pursuant to Section 713. (4) Notwithstanding Section 8022, the department may release contact information to a retrieval permitholder for purposes of the retrieval program under terms and conditions as the department deems necessary to preserve the confidentiality of the information released. Any release of information pursuant to this section does not constitute a waiver of any applicable exemptions from disclosure under the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code). (5) The department may deny an application for renewal or transfer of a Dungeness crab vessel permit until the applicant pays any fees imposed pursuant to paragraph (3). (6) The department shall submit the proposed retrieval program developed pursuant to this section to the Dungeness crab task force for review, and shall not implement the retrieval program until the task force has had 60 days or more to review the proposed retrieval program and recommend any proposed changes. The director may implement the retrieval program earlier than 60 days after it is submitted to the Dungeness crab task force for review, if recommended by the task force.

(c) This section shall become inoperative on April 1, 2029, and, as of January 1, 2030, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2030, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.