Section 120.1 - Pink Shrimp Trawling(a) Permit Required. Any person using a trawl net to take, possess aboard a vessel, or land pink shrimp for commercial purposes shall have a pink shrimp trawl permit issued pursuant to Section 120.2 that has not been suspended or revoked.(b) Season and Harvest Control Rule. Unless otherwise prescribed under this subsection, pink shrimp may be taken April 1 through October 31.(1) Target reference point. The current fishing season shall close on October 15 and the next season shall be delayed until April 15 if the average landing of pink shrimp falls below 12,500 pounds during the month of June.(2) Limit reference point. The current fishing season shall close 10 days following public notice and the start of the next season shall be delayed until April 15 if: (A) The mean sea level height exceeds 7.5 feet above the station datum as calculated using sea level height measurements from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tide gauge at Crescent City, California between April 1 of the previous year through January 31 of the current year; and(B) the average landing of pink shrimp falls below 10,000 pounds during the month of June.(3) In determining the average landing in June, the department shall: (A) Use landings data collected in June pursuant to Section 197.(B) For vessels towing one trawl net, the landing shall be multiplied by a factor of 1.6.(C) The average landing shall be the sum of all landings from vessels towing one net as modified by subsection (b)(3)(B) and all landings from vessels towing two trawl nets divided by the total number of landings.(c) Bycatch Reduction Device (BRD) and Footrope Lighting Device (FLD) Required. No shrimp trawl net may be possessed on board a vessel in the commercial pink shrimp fishery that does not include an approved BRD and FLD.(1) Approved BRDs. An Approved BRD is required for all trawl nets used in the pink shrimp trawl fishery and is described as one of the following types below. Approved BRDs shall not be modified in any way that interferes with their ability to allow fish to escape from the trawl. (A) The Rigid-Grate Excluder (such as The Nordmore Grate). The grate consists of a series of rigid or semi-rigid vertical bars that form a panel which guides finfish out of an escape hole located in the top of the net. The device may include a funnel used to concentrate catch near the bottom of the panel to facilitate sorting and prevent shrimp loss but is not a required component. The panel may be hinged to facilitate rolling over a net reel. An approved Rigid-Grate Excluder must meet the following criteria: 1. The rigid or semi-rigid panel must completely cover some portion of the net in diagonal cross-section.2. None of the openings between the vertical bars of the panel may exceed 2 inches.3. The escape hole, when spread open, must expose a hole at least 100 square inches in surface area, which is the equivalent to removing 10-12 meshes in a straight line.4. The escape hole must be forward of the panel and the farthest back point must end within four meshes of the point at which the rigid or semi-rigid panel connects to the main net at its farthest back point.(B) The Soft-Panel Excluder. This device uses a mesh panel to guide fish out of an escape hole located in the top of the net. An approved soft-panel BRD must satisfy the following criteria:1. The panel meshes must be constructed of net material with individual meshes no larger than 6 inches (stretch measure).2. The panel must completely cover some portion of the net in diagonal cross-section and partial panels are not allowed.3. The escape hole must, when spread open, expose a hole at least 100 square inches in surface area, which is equivalent to cutting 10-12 meshes in a straight line.4. The escape hole must be positioned forward of the panel and end within four meshes of the point at which the panel connects to the main net at its farthest back point.(C) The Fisheye Excluder. This device functions as a simple forward facing escape hatch that is maintained by a rigid frame. An approved fisheye BRD must meet the following criteria: 1. The escape hole must be forward facing so that finfish can swim towards the mouth of the net to exit through the fisheye.2. The device must be placed on the top of the codend, no further forward than 84 codend meshes, counted from the pursing rings.3. The escape hole must be no less than 6 inches in height and no less than 10 inches in width.(2) FLD. All trawl nets used north of Point Conception, Santa Barbara County shall have functional lighting devices attached to the footrope as follows: (A) Lighting devices shall be blue or green light-emitting diodes that are pressure-rated to a depth of at least 300 meters.(B) Lighting devices must be securely attached within 6 inches of the forward leading edge of the bottom panel of trawl netting; and(C) Each trawl net must have a minimum of 5 lighting devices, spaced at least 4 feet apart in the center of each net.(d) Net Removal. No shrimp trawl nets shall be removed from the vessel participating in the pink shrimp trawl fishery prior to the offloading of pink shrimp.(e) Maximum Count per Pound. No vessel shall land or possess in any ocean waters and tidelands of the state a load of pink shrimp having an average count greater than 160 shrimp per pound.(f) Pink Shrimp Landing Weight Estimation. When pink shrimp are landed mixed with ice, the net weight of pink shrimp landed shall be estimated as follows: (1) Samples of the ice and pink shrimp mixture shall be taken throughout the landing process.(A) At least one sample shall be taken from each receptacle weighed during the landing process. If a receptacle contains 800 pounds or more of ice and pink shrimp mixture, at least one sample shall be taken for every 400 pounds it contains.(B) Each sample shall be at least three pounds.(2) To estimate net weight of pink shrimp landed, the proportion of pink shrimp in the samples shall be accurately determined and applied to the total weight of ice and pink shrimp mixture landed.(3) Reporting requirement: (A) The estimated net weight of pink shrimp landed shall be recorded as the accurate species weight required by Section 197.(B) The total weight of ice and pink shrimp mixture landed shall be recorded in the note pad section of any dock ticket or electronic fish ticket.Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 14, § 120.1
1. New section filed 12-10-2008; operative 1-9-2009 (Register 2008, No. 50).
2. Repealer of subsection (c)(2) and amendment of NOTE filed 3-2-2022; operative 4-1-2022 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2022, No. 9).
3. Amendment of section and NOTE filed 10-26-2022; operative 11-1-2022 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2022, No. 43). Note: Authority cited: Sections 7078, 8591, 8841 and 8842, Fish and Game Code. Reference: Sections 7078, 8591, 8841 and 8842, Fish and Game Code.
1. New section filed 12-10-2008; operative 1-9-2009 (Register 2008, No. 50).
2. Repealer of subsection (c)(2) and amendment of Note filed 3-2-2022; operative 4/1/2022 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2022, No. 9).
3. Amendment of section and Note filed 10-26-2022; operative 11/1/2022 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2022, No. 43).