Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Dungeness Crab Trap Limit Program
The passing of SB369 in 2011 added Section 8276.5 to the Fish and Game Code, which imposes trap limits on Dungeness crab vessel permit holders. The legislative statute authorizes the Department of Fish and Game (DFG), under the authority of the Director, to implement the program. DFG's Marine Region, Law Enforcement Division, and License and Revenue Branch contributed to drafting new regulations to be adopted in Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations. The regulations were designed to limit each permit holder to operating the number of traps within their trap tier limits. After reviewing the new regulations, the Dungeness Crab Task Force approved them with a vote in the affirmative, which is "considered to be evidence of consensus in the Dungeness crab industry" as stated in Section 8276.5(c) of the Fish and Game Code.

Public Hearing
DFG will hold a public hearing at 11:00 a.m. on August 20, 2012, in Conference Room 405 at the Rattigan State Office Building, 50 D Street, Santa Rosa, California 95404. The conference room is wheelchair accessible. At the hearing, any person may present statements or arguments orally or in writing relevant to the proposed action described in the Informative Digest (see the Complete Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, available on the DFG website - Web address is at the end of this e-mail). DFG requests but does not require that the persons who make oral comments at the hearing also submit a written copy of their testimony at the hearing.

Written Comment Period
Any interested person, or his or her authorized representative, may submit written comments relevant to the proposed regulatory action to DFG. All written comments must be received by DFG at the following offices no later than 5:00 p.m. on August 20, 2012. All written comments must include the true name and mailing address of the commenter.

Written comments may be submitted by mail, fax, or e-mail, to:

Department of Fish and Game
Marine Region
Peter Kalvass, Senior Environmental Scientist
32330 North Harbor Dr.
Fort Bragg, CA 95437
Fax: (707) 964-0642
Email: pkalvass@dfg.ca.gov

Or:

Department of Fish and Game
Marine Region
Christy Juhasz, Environmental Scientist
5355 Skylane Blvd., Ste. B
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
Fax: (707) 576-7132
Email: cjuhasz@dfg.ca.gov