2005 California Fish and Game Code Sections 15400-15415 CHAPTER 5. LEASING OF STATE WATER BOTTOMS

15400.  The commission may lease state water bottoms to any person
for aquaculture.  The commission may adopt regulations governing the
terms of the leases.  No state water bottoms shall be leased, unless
the commission determines that the lease is in the public interest.
15401.  Areas used by the public for digging clams shall not be
leased.  The department shall designate those areas.
15402.  A lessee of a state water bottom owns all lawfully
cultivated organisms that are described in the application for the
lease and produced in the area leased.  The lessee has the exclusive
right to cultivate and harvest the aquatic organisms in the area
leased.
15403.  Persons wishing to lease a state water bottom shall make a
written application to the commission.  An application shall contain
all of the following information:
   (a) A map showing the area to be leased, its general vicinity, and
all ownership and boundary lines in the vicinity.
   (b) A description of the organisms to be grown and the culture
techniques to be used.
   (c) An estimate of the acreage to be leased.
   (d) A nonrefundable filing fee of five hundred dollars ($500).
   The lessee shall assume responsibility for any infringement on
privately owned water bottoms, or water bottoms owned by, or under
the jurisdiction of any city, county, or district.
15404.  (a) If the commission finds that the area applied for is
available for lease and that the lease would be in the public
interest, it shall publish a notice that the area is being considered
for leasing.
   (b) The commission shall have legal notices published in a
newspaper of general circulation in each county where the water
bottom, or any part thereof, is located, describing the area to be
leased and the type of operation to be conducted.  The publication
shall comply with Sections 6060 and 6066 of the Government Code.
15405.  No initial term of a state water bottom lease shall exceed
25 years.
15406.  (a) Each state water bottom lease shall specify a period
prior to expiration when renewal of the lease may be requested by the
lessee.  If during this period the lessee is still actively engaged
in aquaculture, as determined by the commission, the lessee shall
have a prior right to renew the lease on terms agreed upon between
the commission and the lessee.  If terms are not agreed upon, the
commission shall advertise for bids on the lease.  If a request for
renewal is not made by the lessee, the commission shall advertise for
bids on the lease.  The commission shall consider bids only from
aquaculturists registered pursuant to Section 15101.
   (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), with respect to any lease of
state water bottoms in effect on January 1, 1983, the lessee shall
have a prior right to renew the lease.  If the lessee does not renew
the lease, the commission shall advertise for bids on the lease.  The
commission shall consider bids only from aquaculturists registered
pursuant to Section 15101.
   (c) A lease may be renewed for additional periods not to exceed 25
years each.
15406.5.  The commission shall award water bottom leases to the
highest responsible bidder, if the bid meets or exceeds the minimum
annual rent established by the commission, which shall not be less
than two dollars ($2) per acre, for all species cultivated, unless
the acreage applied for is 10 acres or less, in which case the
minimum acceptable rent shall be ten dollars ($10) per acre.  The
annual rent for any lease in effect on January 1, 1983, for the
cultivation of oysters shall be one dollar ($1) per acre until the
expiration thereof.  The commission may reject any or all bids for
the lease of state water bottoms if it deems the rejection to be in
the public interest.
15406.7.  (a) In addition to the rent provided in Section 15406.5,
every person operating under an oyster lease shall pay a privilege
tax of four cents ($0.04) per packed gallon, or fraction thereof, of
shucked oysters harvested by the lessee.
   (b) If the oysters are marketed in the shell, the tax shall be
based on the equivalent yield of shucked oyster meat.  In determining
the yield of oysters, it shall be deemed that 100 oysters are
equivalent to one packed gallon of shucked oyster meat.
   (c) The tax imposed by this section is the exclusive privilege tax
that shall be imposed on lessees of state water bottoms for oyster
cultivation, notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 15003.
15407.  The annual rent shall be paid to the department within 30
days of the commencement of the lease and within 30 days of the
anniversary thereof.  The commission may establish penalty fees for
late payment and may cancel the lease if rent is not paid within 90
days of the commencement of the lease or within 90 days of any
anniversary thereof.
15408.  The commission shall promulgate regulations governing the
termination of leases due to failure to pay rent or improper use of
the leasehold.
15409.  Upon termination of a lease, for any reason, all structures
will be removed at the lessee's expense from the leasehold, and the
area shall be restored to its original condition.  If the lessee
fails to remove the structures, the state may remove them and the
lessee shall pay the removal costs so incurred.
15410.  All leases shall be subject to the power of the Legislature
to increase or decrease the rents, fees, taxes, and other charges
relating to the lease, but no increase in rent shall be applicable to
an existing lease until it is renewed.
15411.  Lessees under a state water bottom lease may not
unreasonably impede public access to state waters for purpose of
fishing, navigation, commerce, or recreation.  The lessee may,
however, limit public access to the extent necessary to avoid damage
to the leasehold and the aquatic life culture therein.
   The commission may prohibit any recreational activity in any
aquaculture area subject to a state water bottom lease if it
determines that the activity is detrimental to the enhancement of the
resource.
15412.  No water bottom lease may be assigned without the prior
approval of the commission.  Application for approval of a lease
assignment shall comply with all of the requirements for an original
lease.
15413.  No person may enter upon any area subject to a water bottom
lease in which aquatic life is cultivated, or remove the aquatic life
therefrom without the consent of the lessee, or willfully destroy
the cultivated aquatic life or any markers intended to designate the
boundaries and limits of the leased area.
15414.  A water bottom lease may require periodic reports that the
commission deems necessary for the proper administration of the state'
s water bottoms.
15415.  The department shall notify the State Lands Commission of
all applications for water bottom leases.
   The department shall inform the State Lands Commission of all
leases executed, renewed, or assigned pursuant to this chapter, and
shall furnish the State Lands Commission with such information
concerning these leases that it may require.