9/22/12
A bill authored by Assemblyman Wes Chesbro, D-Arcata, would help North Coast crab fishermen by restricting permit transfers to boats from outside of California.
”It's kind of a loophole that we're trying to close,” said crab fisherman Aaron Newman, Humboldt Fisherman's Marketing Association president.
In a press release, Chesbro said the bill is meant to “prevent a repeat of last season when large crab boats from out of state took unfair advantage of the devastation in Crescent City Harbor caused by the tsunami.”
Chesbro said he hopes the bill, AB 2363, can take effect immediately after Gov. Jerry Brown signs it -- ideally in time for crab season, which usually starts in December. The main provision of the bill would set tighter limits on emergency transfers of Dungeness crab permits to boats outside of California.
”It was something that was well intentioned that was taken advantage of by some individuals,” said Eureka crab fisherman Mike Cunningham, who helped develop the new legislation with Chesbro.
Newman said larger, out-of-state boats purchased local crab fishing permits after the March 2011 tsunami devastated the Crescent City harbor, taking an unfair share of crabs from local fishermen with smaller boats.
”There were boats that weren't even operable before the tsunami,” or not actively participating in crab fishing, Newman said. Because of the tsunami emergency, those boat owners were granted permission to transfer their crab fishing permits.
He said he hopes the new legislation will force regulators to ask some tough questions before a permit is transferred.
”Is it a bogus transfer, or is it for people that actually need it?” he said. “Some permit owners were offered a pile of money to go fishing, which is not the intent of the law.”
Cunningham stressed that the option of transferring permits is still there for boat owners, in the case of “bona fide” emergencies. But, he said, the current regulations needed more restrictions.
Another provision of the bill would allow crab fishermen to retrieve lost or abandoned crab traps at the end of the season, even if the pot is not their own. Under current regulations, fishermen can only pick up their own pots.
”This means less derelict fishing gear in the water to ensnare wildlife or to interfere with other fishing operations,” Chesbro said.
Fishermen are usually good about picking up their own traps, Newman said.
”But, they do get abandoned,” he said. “There are people that are sloppy.”
That can cost other fishermen, Newman said. If a pot gets tangled up in a boat, it can cause damage.
A final provision would allow crab fishermen to sell meat from test crabs. Each year crab size is tested to see if the crabs are big enough for the season to commence. In the past, experts have recommended that the season be delayed due to a poor crab meat-to-size ratio -- a delay that sometimes means weeks without income for crab fishermen.
Newman has been involved with the preseason testing process before, a process he called “expensive.” Fishermen have to go out and fish, and a plant has to process 5,000 pounds of crab, he said.
The test crab catch was always given away to charities, Cunningham said. Under the new provision that the catch can be sold, allowing fishermen and testers to recoup costs and still have enough crab left over to give away, he said.
