(a) Drift gill net shark and swordfish permittees with valid permits issued pursuant to Section 106 of these regulations who choose to participate in the transition program shall submit a completed and notarized department form, Declaration of Intent to Participate in Drift Gill Net Transition Program (DFW 1083, NEW 08/31/19), herein incorporated by reference. All Declarations of Intent to Participate in Drift Gill Net Transition Program must be postmarked on or before January 1, 2020.

(b) When funds are available, the department shall notify in writing a permittee who submits form DFW 1083 in the order received whether the permittee meets the requirements of Section 8583 of the Fish and Game Code.

(c) Any permittee who meets the requirements of Section 8583 of the Fish and Game Code and voluntarily participates in the transition program shall indicate on form DFW 1083 agreement to:

(d) A permittee who the department has determined meets the requirements of Section 8583 of the Fish and Game Code, who complies with subsection (c) of this Section within one year of notification pursuant to subsection (b) or January 31, 2024, whichever comes first, and who submits a completed state form STD 204, Payee Data Record (Rev. 5/2018, incorporated by reference herein) shall be compensated pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 8583 of the Fish and Game Code.

(e) Any permittee who has completed the steps outlined in subsections (a) or (b) of this Section may withdraw their intent to participate in the Transition Program prior to receipt of compensation outlined in subsection (d) of this Section by submitting written notice to the department's License and Revenue Branch.

(f) The department shall approve entities upon written request for the purpose of destroying large mesh drift gill nets pursuant to the transition program. Destroy means modification of the nets to the point they may no longer be used for the purpose of drift gill net fishing, and may include recycling net components for non-drift gill net purposes.