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AB 1299
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1299 (Huffman)
As Amended May 27, 2011
Majority vote
WATER, PARKS & WILDLIFE
9-2
APPROPRIATIONS
12-5
Ayes:
Huffman, Blumenfield, Campos,
Fong, Gatto, Roger Hernández,
Hueso, Lara, Yamada
Ayes:
Fuentes, Blumenfield, Bradford,
Charles Calderon, Campos, Davis,
Gatto, Hall, Hill, Lara, Mitchell,
Solorio
Nays:
Halderman, Olsen
Nays:
Harkey, Donnelly, Nielsen, Norby,
Wagner
SUMMARY: Enacts the Forage Species Conservation and Management Act of 2011 (Act).
Specifically, this bill:
1) Establishes a state policy to ensure the conservation, sustainable use, and where feasible
restoration of California’s forage species populations, including their habitats and water quality,
for benefit of the citizens of the state. States the objective of this policy is to achieve
ecosystem-based management of forage species that recognizes the ecological services of forage
species and the dependence of predator species on forage species. Establishes a state policy to
promote higher value uses of forage species for human consumption.
2) Defines "forage species" for purposes of the Act to include specified fish species, and authorizes
the Fish and Game Commission (FGC) to designate additional species as forage species if it
finds that a species comprises a major component in the diets of fish, birds, mammals, or turtles,
and contributes disproportionately to ecosystem functions and resilience due to its role as prey.
3) Requires new Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) for forage species and amendments to
existing FMPs for forage species completed after January 1, 2012, to be consistent with the
policies described in this bill to the extent scientific data is readily available for that purpose.
States that it is the Legislature's intent not to require reconsideration of regulations or FMPs in
place before January 1, 2012.
4) Requires the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) or the FGC in determining consistency with
the policies in this bill to review best readily available scientific information to identify
specified elements relating to ecosystem management.
5) Defines ecosystem-based management to mean a management approach that recognizes the
array of interactions within an ecosystem, including humans, rather than considering single
issues, species, or ecosystem services in isolation.
6) States legislative findings and declarations regarding the values of forage species to the marine
ecosystem and human health, the lack of baseline data for many forage species, and the
multitude of risks facing forage species. Encourages DFG and the Ocean Protection Council
(OPC) to work together collaboratively to achieve the policy objectives of this bill, consistent
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with DFG’s and OPC’s existing duties and responsibilities under the Marine Life Management
Act (MLMA) and the Ocean Protection Act.
EXISTING LAW:
1) Declares it is the policy of the state to encourage the preservation, conservation, and
maintenance of wildlife resources in order to maintain sufficient populations of all species and
necessary habitat, to provide for beneficial use and enjoyment of wildlife by the citizens of the
state, to perpetuate wildlife for their intrinsic and ecological values, to maintain recreational
uses, and to provide for economic contributions to the citizens of the state.
2) Requires, under the MLMA, that marine living resources be managed sustainably, through
adaptive management, on the basis of best available science and other information. Requires
that FMPs be prepared for all regulated fisheries, and establishes a process, including public
hearings, for review and adoption of FMPs by the FGC. Requires that each FMP include
available information on species population, habitat, ecosystem role, economic and social
factors. Also requires adoption of a master plan setting priorities for preparation of FMPs.
3) Gives management authority over the market squid fishery to the FGC and requires FGC to
manage the fishery under the guidelines of the MLMA. Requires FGC to adopt a market squid
FMP. A Market Squid FMP (MSFMP) was adopted by FGC and updated in 2005.
4) Requires that Pacific mackerel and sardines be managed in conformance with federal fishery
regulations. Places certain geographic and catch limit restrictions on the taking of anchovies
and prohibits commercial fishing for krill in California waters.
5) Regulates, under federal law known as the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Management and
Conservation Act, management of forage species under the jurisdiction of the National Marine
Fisheries Service. Some forage species, specifically pacific mackerel, pacific sardines, jack
mackerel and northern anchovies, are regulated under the Coastal Pelagic Species FMP.
6) Creates the OPC and directs the OPC, among other things, to support state agencies’ use and
sharing of scientific information, to assess the needs of state agencies for information relevant to
ecosystem-based management, to work to increase baseline scientific information needed for
such management, and to support agencies’ collaborative management and use of scientific
information relative to ecosystem-based management.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, potential ongoing
annual costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to DFG to consider scientific information when
developing or revising FMPs for forage species.
COMMENTS: The purpose of this bill is to provide additional protection for the foundation of
California's ocean food web and important coastal fisheries by encouraging ecosystem-based
management of forage species. Forage species, such as squid, anchovies, herring, smelt, and
sardines, are small schooling pelagic fish that play a crucial role in marine ecosystems and serve as
a primary food source for many other marine species. In order to provide for healthy, productive
and resilient ocean ecosystems, the author and sponsors introduced this bill to establish a state
policy to protect forage species and the role they play in the marine ecosystem. Background
information provided by the author and sponsors notes that scientists recognize the critical role
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forage species play in the ecosystem as food for other fish, seabirds and mammals. Healthy and
abundant forage populations are critical to the sustainability of the ecosystem and the recovery of
other fisheries dependent on forage species for food. Forage species transfer energy from the
bottom of the food web to higher levels. For example, krill and sardines eat microscopic plankton,
and krill and sardines are then eaten by salmon, seabirds and whales. The sponsors are concerned
about the potential impacts of over-fishing of forage species on marine mammals and seabirds, and
on the productivity of other commercial fisheries. They also note healthy abundance of forage
species may be impacted negatively by global warming and other changing ocean conditions. The
sponsors assert current fisheries management practices do not explicitly consider the need to
maintain sufficient populations of forage fish for ecosystem needs.
The ecosystem-based management policies set forth in this bill are similar to existing state policies
for ecosystem-based management of marine fisheries generally, as reflected in the MLMA and the
Ocean Protection Act, but add additional specificity with regard to management of forage species.
The scientific literature notes that abundance of forage fish is impacted by environmental factors
and fluctuations in the oceans, but that intense fishing pressure can also have an impact, depleting
the food base for seabirds and marine mammals. The sensitivity of forage fish to changing
oceanographic conditions, and increasing concern over forage fish sustainability, including the
impacts of fishing on marine ecosystems, has led some fishery scientists to call for a precautionary
ecosystem-based approach to management. At the federal level, fishery management in the
California Current Region, which extends the length of the West Coast from Baja, California to
British Colombia, is primarily based on single species stock assessments using stock synthesis
models. A federal California Current Ecosystem FMP is currently under development but the
anticipated date of completion is unknown.
Supporters of this bill emphasize the critical role of forage species in maintaining the health of the
entire marine ecosystem, the importance of forage species to recovery of economically important
commercial and recreational fisheries such as salmon and halibut, and the nutritional values of
forage fish for human consumption. Supporters note that insufficient food supply in the oceans has
been linked to declines in Sacramento River fall Chinook salmon, major bird reproductive failures
and population declines, and marine mammal mortality events over the last decade. They
emphasize the need for a state policy specifically recognizing the importance of sustainable
ecosystem-based management of forage species.
Opponents of this bill assert this bill is unnecessary and duplicates or overrides existing fishery
management requirements, creates new unfunded mandates on DFG, and requires a scientific
consensus or proof of a negative before a fishery for forage species can be expanded. Opponents
further claim this bill will prohibit expansion of fishery harvests without proof such expansion
would cause harm, assert there is no evidence forage species are being over fished, and fear this bill
would require the fishing industry to fund expensive research and studies. They assert this bill will
put fishermen and processors out of work and eliminate jobs. Opponents also argue forage fish
should be managed at the federal level, and point to a proposed federal FMP which has been under
development for several years. The amendments taken in the Appropriations Committee deleted
many of the provisions objected to by the opposition, however, it is unclear to what extent the
amendments have removed the opposition.
Analysis Prepared by:
Diane Colborn / W., P. & W. / (916) 319-2096
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