Thank you for your interest in the
California Department of Fish and
Wildlife's lost or abandoned commercial
Dungeness crab trap gear retrieval program.
My name is Morgan Ivens Duran and I'm
an Environmental Scientist with the
Marine Region's Whale Safe Fisheries team.
In this short video,
I will provide a brief overview of
the Trap Gear Retrieval Program;
why qualified entities should
consider applying for a permit,
and who is eligible to apply; when
and how to apply for a permit;
key responsibilities
once a permit is issued; and where
to go for additional information.
The Trap Gear Retrieval Program allows
CDFW to authorize retrieval of lost
or abandoned commercial Dungeness crab
trap gear after the close of the season.
Permitted entities, who we
refer to as Retrieval
Permittees, oversee on the water retrieval
efforts by up to 10 individuals and
vessels specified on the permit.
Those vessels can either conduct dedicated
trips looking for lost or abandoned gear,
or opportunistically recovered gear
while they are out on the water
participating in other fisheries.
Once the gear is retrieved,
the Retrieval Permittee contacts
the original owner of the gear and
offers to return it in exchange
for reasonable compensation.
Ideally, the Retrieval Permittee,
and the original owner come to
a satisfactory arrangement.
If not, then after a final
notification via certified mail,
the Retrieval Permittee can keep the
gear and request reimbursement from CDFW.
One thing I want to make sure to mention
is that this program was established
in regulation as section 132.7,
Title 14 of the California
Code of Regulations.
There is another section in Title 14,
Section 132.2 which addresses other
types of lost or abandoned commercial
Dungeness crab gear retrieval efforts.
Recovering gear under that section
does not require a permit from CDFW,
although there are other constraints
on those activities.
We will be focusing on the program in
Section 132.7 during this presentation.
So why should you consider participating
in the Trap Gear Retrieval Program?
Recovering lost or abandoned
gear is an active step
industry can take to reduce marine life
entanglement risk without impacting effort
in the commercial Dungeness crab fishery.
It also reduces navigational hazards for
recreational boaters and participants in
other commercial fisheries such as salmon.
And by participating in this program,
you are entitled to compensation
for the recovered gear,
either from the original owner or from CDFW.
If you're interested in participating,
your next question might be who
can apply for a Retrieval Permit.
Permit applications are limited to
qualified entities which are defined as:
charitable organizations; sport or
commercial fishing associations with
a written charter or governing board;
a local agency under Government Code
Section 5001 (that is, a city or county);
or a district under Harbors
and Navigation Code Section 6002
or 6200 (that is, harbors and ports).
The reason CDFW has defined qualified
entities in this way is that there are
several administrative requirements
associated with the program,
some of which we'll go over later
in the presentation.
CDFW wants to ensure that Retrieval
Permittees have sufficient
administrative capacity to follow
through on those obligations.
There are two potential start dates
for gear recovery in your area.
The scheduled start date is 15 days
after the scheduled close of the
commercial Dungeness crab season.
This means gear recovery can start
on July 15th south of the Sonoma/
Mendicino County line.
And July 30th north of the
Sonoma/Mendicino County line.
However,
the CDFW Director can authorize an
earlier start when implementing a
management action under the Risk
Assessment and Mitigation program.
While it's impossible to know how
the spring 2022 season will unfold,
CDFW did authorize an early start to
the Trap Gear Retrieval Program in at
least some areas during both 2020 and 2021.
CDFW encourages interested entities
to submit an application as soon
as you are able to confirm a
point of contact and lists of
Designated Retrievers and vessels.
CDFW's License and Revenue Branch
typically issues permits within 15
days of receiving an application.
Although it can take longer if there
are issues with the application form
or verifying that the applicant
and Designated Retrievers meet
the requirements of the program.
By applying for a permit in February
or March,
you will be ready to start gear recovery
operations as soon as they are authorized.
Permit applications for the 2022
Trap Gear retrieval program are
currently available on CDFW's
commercial fishing licenses
webpage:
www.wildlife.ca.gov/licensing/commercial.
If you scroll down to the limited entry
permits transfer information section,
you'll find a link to the form
under Dungeness crab vessel.
The application fee for 2022 is $407.50.
This fee helps to cover CDFW's
costs in administering the program.
I mentioned that receiving a
Retrieval Permit comes with
several administrative obligations.
I'll briefly review those and some
other key aspects of the program.
The first item is that this
program is limited to commercial
Dungeness crab gear with a buoy tag.
No other gear can be retrieved
under the program.
This includes Dungeness crab
traps deployed by CPFV vessels,
which can look very similar to
commercial Dungeness crab traps,
but won't have a buoy tag.
This also includes recreational
Dungeness crab gear and gear from other
recreational or commercial fisheries.
The second is that Designated
Retrievers and Retrieval Permittees
are required to document gear
recovery on a specific logbook form.
Many of the fields on the logbook
need to be filled out by the end
of the retrieval trip and before
anyone disembarks from the vessel.
Other fields are completed by the
Retrieval Permittee prior to submitting
the original hard copy logbooks to CDFW.
Third is that once gear is recovered
Retrieval Permittees must reach out
to the original owner of the gear
within one week by either text,
email or certified letter letting
them know their gear has been
recovered under the program and
offering to return the gear in
exchange for a freely negotiated fee.
It's also important to maintain a
record of that contact so CDFW can
confirm when and how it occurred.
And the 4th is that the Retrieval
Permittee is required to securely
store the gear and avoid causing
any additional damage until the
gear is either returned to the
original owner or October 21st,
at which point you can request
reimbursement from CDFW and
freely dispose of the gear.
I hope you found this presentation
helpful and will consider applying for
a Trap Gear Retrieval Permit this year.
You can find more information
about the program on our webpage:
www.wildlife.ca.gov/conservation/marine/whale-safe-fisheries
If you have any additional questions,
please send an email to WhaleSafeFisheries@wildlife.ca.gov.
Thank you for your time
and attention.