(a) Notwithstanding Sections 8693 and 8724, gill nets and trammel nets shall not be used in those portions of District 17 between a line extending 220° magnetic from the mouth of Waddell Creek in Santa Cruz County and a line extending 252° magnetic from Yankee Point, Carmel Highlands, in Monterey County in waters 30 fathoms or less in depth at mean lower low water.
(b) Notwithstanding Sections 8693 and 8724, gill nets and trammel nets shall not be used in that portion of District 18 north of a line extending due west from Point Sal in Santa Barbara County in waters 30 fathoms or less in depth at mean lower low water.
(c) Notwithstanding Sections 8693 and 8724, any person using gill nets or trammel nets in those portions of Districts 17 and 18 from a line extending 220° magnetic from the mouth of Waddell Creek in Santa Cruz County to a line extending due west from Point Sal in Santa Barbara County in waters between 30 fathoms and 40 fathoms in depth at mean lower low water shall comply with all of the following requirements in order to ensure adequate monitoring of fishing effort to protect marine mammals:
(1) Prior to the use, the person shall notify the department that gill nets or trammel nets will be set in the area.
(2) The person shall give adequate notification, as determined by the department, to the department at its office in Monterey or Morro Bay at least 24 hours prior to each fishing trip to ensure full compliance and cooperation with the monitoring program. The department may require that an authorized monitor be on board the vessel. The department shall determine whether on board, at sea, or shoreside monitoring is appropriate. If the authorized monitor is not on board the fishing vessel, the fishing vessel operator and the authorized monitor shall make every effort to remain in radio contact if the radio equipment is made available to the monitor.
(3) To ensure the effectiveness of the monitoring program, gill nets and trammel nets may be set or pulled only between one-half hour after sunrise and one-half hour before sunset.
(4) A permit may be revoked and canceled pursuant to Section 8681 for failure to comply with the department’s notification and monitoring requirements.
(d) If the director determines that the use of gill or trammel nets is having an adverse impact on any population of any species of seabird, marine mammal, or fish, the director shall issue an order prohibiting or restricting the use, method of use, size, or materials used in the construction of either or both types of those nets in all or any part of District 10 or 17, or in all or any part of District 18 north of a line extending due west from Point Conception in Santa Barbara County for a specified period. The order shall take effect no later than 48 hours after its issuance. The director shall hold a properly noticed public hearing in a place convenient to the affected area within one week of the effective date of the order to describe the action taken and shall take testimony as to the effect of the order and determine whether any modification of the order is necessary.
(e) For purposes of this section, “adverse impact” means either of the following:
(1) The danger of irreparable injury to, or mortality in, any population of any species of seabird, marine mammal, or fish which is occurring at a rate that threatens the viability of the population as a direct result of the use of gill nets or trammel nets.
(2) The impairment of the recovery of a species listed as an endangered species or threatened species pursuant to the federal Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et seq.) or the California Endangered Species Act (Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 2050) of Division 3) or a species of seabird, marine mammal, or fish designated as fully protected under this code, as a direct result of the use of gill nets or trammel nets.
(f) This section does not apply to any gill net with meshes 31/2 inches or less in length in any portion of District 18 between Yankee Point in Monterey County and Point Sal in Santa Barbara County.
(g) The Legislature finds and declares that this section, as amended by Chapter 884 of the Statutes of 1990, and as amended by the act that amended this section during the 1992 portion of the 1991–92 Regular Session, is more restrictive on the use and possession of gill nets and trammel nets than the version of this section in effect on January 1, 1990, and therefore complies with Section 8610.4, and Section 4 of Article X B of the California Constitution.
(Amended by Stats. 1992, Ch. 94, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 1993.)