2011 California Code
Fish and Game Code
DIVISION 6. FISH [5500 - 9101]
ARTICLE 6. Crab
Section 8280.1

(a) A person shall not use a vessel to take, possess, or land Dungeness crab for commercial purposes using Dungeness crab traps authorized pursuant to Section 9011, unless the owner of that vessel has a Dungeness crab vessel permit for that vessel that has not been suspended or revoked.

(b) A Dungeness crab vessel permit may be issued only to the following persons for use on qualifying vessels:

(1) A person, who has a commercial fishing license issued pursuant to Section 7852 or Article 7 (commencing with Section 8030) of Chapter 1 that has not been suspended or revoked, who is the owner of a commercial fishing vessel that has been registered with the department pursuant to Section 7881 in each of the 1991 92, 1992 93, and 1993 94 permit years and a minimum of four landings in each of three Dungeness crab seasons in the period from November 1, 1984, to April 1, 1994, have been made from that vessel. This paragraph includes any person purchasing a vessel qualifying pursuant to this paragraph.

(2) A person who has a commercial fishing license issued pursuant to Section 7852 or Article 7 (commencing with Section 8030) of Chapter 1 that has not been suspended or revoked, who is the owner of a commercial fishing vessel that has been registered with the department pursuant to Section 7881 in each of the 1991 92, 1992 93, and 1993 94 permit years and a minimum of four landings in one of the Dungeness crab seasons in the period from November 1, 1984, to April 1, 1994, have been made from that vessel in this state as documented by landing receipts delivered to the department pursuant to Section 8046, who the department finds to have been unable, due to illness or injury or any other hardship, to make a minimum of four landings in each of two of the previous three Dungeness crab seasons, and who, in good faith, intended to participate in the Dungeness crab fishery in those seasons.

(3) A person who has a commercial fishing license issued pursuant to Section 7852 that has not been suspended or revoked, who meets the requirements of Section 8101, and who, notwithstanding Section 8101, is, at the time of application, the owner of a fishing vessel that is not equipped for trawling with a net and that has been registered pursuant to Section 7881 in each of the 1991 92, 1992 93, and 1993 94 permit years. Not more than one Dungeness crab vessel permit shall be issued to any person qualifying under Section 8101 and all permits issued under Section 8101, notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section 8280.3, shall be nontransferable. A person qualifying for a permit under this paragraph shall have participated in the Dungeness crab fishery on or before March 31, 1994, as documented by landing receipts that were prepared in that person s name for not less than four landings of Dungeness crab taken in a crab trap in a Dungeness crab season and were delivered to the department pursuant to Section 8046. A person shall not be issued a permit under this paragraph if that person has been issued a permit under any other provision of this section for another vessel. For purposes of Section 8101, participated in the fishery means made not less than four landings of Dungeness crab taken by traps in that person s name in one Dungeness crab season. The department shall separately identify permits issued pursuant to this paragraph and those permits shall become immediately null and void upon the death of the permittee. The department shall not issue or renew any permit under this paragraph to a person if the person failed to meet the participation requirements of four landings in one season prior to April 1, 1994, or has been issued a Dungeness crab permit for a vessel under any other paragraph of this subdivision.

(4) A person who has a commercial fishing license issued pursuant to Section 7852 that has not been suspended or revoked, who meets one of the following conditions:

(A) The person held a Dungeness crab permit issued pursuant to Section 8280 as it read on April 1, 1994, and participated in the Dungeness crab fishery between November 1, 1984, and April 1, 1994, and is the owner of a vessel that has been registered with the department in each of the 1991 92, 1992 93, and 1993 94 permit years but did not make landings or the department records do not indicate a minimum of four landings per season for three Dungeness crab seasons from that vessel or in that person s name because of a partnership or other working arrangement where the person was working aboard another vessel engaged in the Dungeness crab fishery in California.

(B) The person held a Dungeness crab permit issued under Section 8280 as it read on April 1, 1994, and is the owner of a commercial fishing vessel that has been registered with the department pursuant to Section 7881 in each of the 1991 92, 1992 93, and 1993 94 permit years and from which a minimum of four landings utilizing traps were made in at least one Dungeness crab season in the period between November 1, 1984, and April 1, 1994, and from which either four landings were made utilizing traps or landings in excess of 10,000 pounds were made utilizing traps in each of two other Dungeness crab seasons in that same period, as documented by landing receipts.

(C) The person held a Dungeness crab vessel permit issued under Section 8280 as it read on April 1, 1994, or was an officer in a California corporation that was licensed pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 8030) of Chapter 1 as of April 1, 1994, and began construction or reconstruction of a vessel on or before January 1, 1992, for the purpose of engaging in the Dungeness crab fishery, including the purchase of equipment and gear to engage in that fishery in California. A person may be issued a permit under this condition only if the person intended in good faith to participate in the California Dungeness crab fishery, a denial of a permit would create a financial hardship on that person, and, for purposes of determining financial hardship, the applicant is a nonresident and cannot participate with his or her vessel or vessels in the Dungeness crab fishery of another state because of that state s limited entry or moratorium on the issuance of permits for the taking of Dungeness crab.

(5) A person who has a commercial fishing license issued pursuant to Section 7852 that has not been suspended or revoked, who held a Dungeness crab permit issued under Section 8280 as it read on April 1, 1994, who made a minimum of four landings of Dungeness crab taken by traps in each of three Dungeness crab seasons in the period from November 1, 1984, to April 1, 1994, in his or her name in this state from a vessel owned by that person, as documented by landing receipts, who, between April 1, 1991, and January 1, 1995, purchased, contracted to purchase, or constructed a vessel, not otherwise qualifying pursuant to paragraph (1), (2), or (4), who has continuously owned that vessel since its purchase or construction, and who either (A) has used that vessel for the taking of Dungeness crab in this state on or before March 31, 1995, as documented by one or more landing receipts delivered to the department pursuant to Section 8046, or (B) intended in good faith, based on evidence that the department and the review panel may require, including investment in crab gear, to enter that vessel in this state s Dungeness crab fishery not later than December 1, 1995. Not more than one permit may be issued to any one person under this paragraph.

(6) A person who held a Dungeness crab permit issued under Section 8280 as it read on April 1, 1994, who made a minimum of four landings utilizing traps in this state in each of three Dungeness crab seasons in the period between November 1, 1984, and April 1, 1994, in his or her name from a vessel operated by that person as documented by landing receipts, who currently does not own a vessel in his or her name, and who has not sold or transferred a vessel otherwise qualifying for a permit under this section. A permit may be issued under this paragraph for a vessel not greater in size than the vessel from which the previous landings were made, and, in no event, for a vessel of more than 60 feet in overall length, to be placed on a vessel that the person purchases or contracts for construction on or before April 1, 1996. A permit issued under this paragraph shall be nontransferable and shall not be used for a vessel not owned by that person, and shall be revoked if the person (A) fails to renew the permit or annually renew his or her commercial fishing license issued pursuant to Section 7852 or (B) is or becomes the owner of another vessel permitted to operate in the Dungeness crab fishery pursuant to this section.

(c) The department may require affidavits offered under penalty of perjury from persons applying for permits under subdivision (b) or from witnesses corroborating the statements of a person applying for a Dungeness crab vessel permit. Affidavits offered under penalty of perjury shall be required of an applicant if the department cannot locate records required to qualify under subdivision (b).

(d) A person shall not be issued a Dungeness crab vessel permit under this section for any vessel unless that person has a valid commercial fishing license issued pursuant to Section 7852 that has not been suspended or revoked.

(e) Notwithstanding Section 7852.2 or subdivision (e) of Section 8280.2, the department may issue a Dungeness crab vessel permit that has not been applied for by the application deadline if the department finds that the failure to apply was a result of a mistake or hardship, as established by evidence the department may require, the late application is made not later than October 15, 1995, and payment is made by the applicant of a late fee of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) in addition to all other fees for the permit.

(f) The department may waive the requirement that a person own a commercial fishing vessel that has been registered with the department pursuant to Section 7881 in each of the 1991 92, 1992 93, and 1993 94 permit years for one of those required years under this section only if the vessel was registered and used in the California Dungeness crab fishery during the registration year immediately prior to the year for which the waiver is sought and was registered and used in the California Dungeness crab fishery after the year for which the waiver is sought and if the reason for the failure to register in the year for which the waiver is sought was due to a death, illness, or injury, or other hardship, as determined by the review panel, that prevented the vessel from being registered and operated in the fishery for that registration year.

(g) (1) If any person submits false information for the purposes of obtaining a Dungeness crab vessel permit under this section, the department shall revoke that permit, if issued, revoke the person s commercial fishing license that was issued pursuant to Section 7850 for a period of not less than five years, and revoke the commercial boat registration for a period of not less than five years of any vessel registered to that person pursuant to Section 7881 of which that person is the owner.

(2) In addition to criminal penalties authorized by law, a person who fishes without a Dungeness crab vessel permit, or who uses a Dungeness crab vessel permit to fish illegally on another vessel other than the permitted one, shall be subject to a fine not more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) and, at the discretion of the department, revocation of the person s fishing license for a period not to exceed five years and revocation of the commercial boat registration license for a period not to exceed five years.

(h) This section shall become inoperative on April 1, 2019, and, as of January 1, 2020, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.

(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 335, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 2012. Inoperative April 1, 2019. Repealed as of January 1, 2020, by its own provisions.)