§ 8681.5

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), the department shall not issue or renew a gill net or trammel net permit under Section 8681.

(b) The department may renew an existing, valid permit issued under Section 8681, under regulations adopted by the commission and upon payment of the fee prescribed under Section 8683.

(c) (1) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b) or Section 8681, until January 1, 2027, any person who has an existing, valid permit issued pursuant to Section 8681, and presents to the department satisfactory evidence that the person has taken and landed fish for commercial purposes in at least 15 of the preceding 20 years, may transfer that permit to any person otherwise qualified under the regulations adopted pursuant to Section 8682 upon payment of the fee prescribed under Section 8683.

(2) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b) or Section 8681, on and after January 1, 2027, any person who has an existing, valid permit issued pursuant to Section 8681, and presents to the department satisfactory evidence that the person has taken and landed fish for commercial purposes in at least 15 of the preceding 20 years, may transfer that permit one time to a family member pursuant to regulations adopted under Section 8682 and upon payment of the fee prescribed under Section 8683, at which point the permit shall become nontransferable.

(d) The Legislature finds and declares that this section 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, 1989, and therefore complies with Section 8610.4, and Section 4 of Article XB of the California Constitution.

(Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 720, Sec. 1. (AB 1056) Effective January 1, 2026.)