Recreational Crab Fishing Gear and Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessel Trap Validation

The project amends sections 29.80, 29.85, 195 and 701, Title 14, CCR, to update the use of hoop nets, prohibit unique line marks required in other fisheries from being used, and provide additional tools to mitigate entanglement risk of federally-protected marine animals (humpback whales, blue whales and Pacific leatherback sea turtles). The regulatory amendments also improve data collection efforts to inform recreational fishery management by establishing a commercial passenger fishing vessel (CPFV) validation. The recreational entanglement evaluation process better aligns the management of the recreational sector to the commercial sector in mitigating entanglement risk of marine animals protected under the federal Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act. The proposal parallels U.S. West Coast efforts to uniquely mark gear in different fisheries, improving gear identification in confirmed entanglements by ensuring required marks in other fisheries are not allowed to be used in California recreational crustacean gear.