§ 165. Commercial Harvesting of Kelp and Other Aquatic Plants.
14 CA ADC § 165Barclays Official California Code of RegulationsEffective: January 1, 2023
Effective: January 1, 2023
14 CCR § 165
§ 165. Commercial Harvesting of Kelp and Other Aquatic Plants.
(a) General License Provisions. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 6651 of the Fish and Game Code, no kelp or other aquatic plants may be harvested for commercial purposes except under a revocable license issued by the department pursuant to this section or a marine aquaria collector's permit issued pursuant to Section 8597 of the Fish and Game Code.
(B) Drying Permits for agar-bearing marine plants. Pursuant to Section 6653.5 of the Fish and Game Code, no person shall reduce the moisture content or otherwise dry agar-bearing marine plants harvested from waters of the state except under the authority of a Drying Permit issued by the department. To obtain a Drying Permit, the applicant must choose the Drying Permit option on the Kelp Harvesting License and Drying Application (DFW 658) incorporated by reference in Section 705.1.
(C) License applications, informational maps depicting administrative kelp beds (defined in Section 165.5) and maps of fishing blocks (incorporated by reference in Section 705.1) for edible seaweed and agar-bearing marine algae, and Monthly Harvest Reports are available on request by contacting the department's Seal Beach office by phone at (562) 342-7100.
(3) Where to Submit Applications. The applicant for a Kelp Harvesting and Drying Permit shall submit the completed application, as specified in Section 705.1, together with the fee authorized by Section 6651 of the Fish and Game Code, to the address listed on the application. Pursuant to Section 700.5, license applications and authorized fees may also be submitted electronically upon the department's establishment of an online submission system.
(4) License Limitation. All provisions of sections 6650-6680 of the Fish and Game Code, and sections 165 and 165.5 of these regulations shall become a condition of all licenses issued under this section to be fully performed by the holders thereof, their agents, servants, employees or those acting under their direction or control.
(D) Weighing of Kelp, Other Marine Aquatic Plants, Marine Algae, Agar-bearing Plants, and Edible Seaweed. The harvester shall determine and record the weight of harvest upon landing or delivery to the harvester's place of business. The harvester may determine the wet weight of harvest by either direct weighing with a state certified scale or a volume conversion that has been approved by the department. If the weight is determined by a certified or licensed weighmaster, the harvester shall obtain a receipt and maintain the receipt with the Monthly Harvest Report.
(H) Monthly Harvest Reports and royalty fees shall be submitted via paper copies or, pursuant to Section 700.5, may be submitted electronically upon the department's establishment of an online submission system. If submitting via paper copies, the original Monthly Harvest Report shall be submitted to the department's Accounting Services Branch/Cash Receipts 715 P Street, 16th Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814 (or mailed to P.O. Box 944209, Sacramento, CA 94244-2090) on or before the 10th day of each month following the month to which the Monthly Harvest Reports pertain with the specified royalty required for all kelp and other aquatic plants harvested. Monthly Harvest Reports that are mailed shall be postmarked on or before the 10th day of each month following the month to which the Monthly Harvest Reports pertain. The Monthly Harvest Report shall be submitted whether or not harvest occurred.
(I) Failure to submit the required Monthly Harvest Reports of harvest activity and royalty fees within the prescribed time limit and/or failure to retain the required Monthly Harvest Reports for the prescribed time period(s) may result in revocation or suspension (including non-renewal) of the harvester's license for a period not to exceed one year. Any revocation, suspension, or nonrenewal may be appealed to the commission.
(8) Bull kelp may not be harvested in closed or lease only administrative kelp beds as described in subsection 165.5(k) unless harvest is for human consumption as specified pursuant to subsection (e)(2) of this section. Bull kelp may be harvested for other uses by the lease holder in lease only beds if a lease is granted by the commission.
(5) Between April 1 and July 31, a kelp harvester may not harvest bull kelp from a nonleased kelp bed that lies partially or totally within the boundary of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary extending from Santa Rosa Creek, San Luis Obispo County, northward to Rocky Point, Marin County. This subsection does not preclude the removal of bull kelp from beaches within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary during the seasonal closure.
1. The department may announce a temporary commercial bull kelp harvest closure in order to obtain an accurate tally of harvest. If the annual overall fishery quota has not been met, the fishery will reopen and commercial kelp harvester license holders shall be limited to allotted harvest amounts to preclude exceeding the annual overall fishery quota and the annual license quota specified in subsection 165(e)(2)(A).
a. Allotted harvest amounts will be calculated as the difference between the annual overall fishery quota and bull kelp harvest from Humboldt and Del Norte counties reported in the monthly harvest reports required pursuant to subsection 165(b)(3) and the weekly harvest reports required pursuant to subsection 165(c)(9)(C), divided by the number of licensed harvesters who indicated “Bull Kelp (Human Consumption)” on their Kelp Harvesting License and Drying Application DFW 658 and those who have not indicated “Bull Kelp (Human Consumption)” on their Kelp Harvesting License and Drying Application DFW 658 but have reported take of bull kelp in Del Norte and/or Humboldt counties on their Commercial Edible Seaweed/Agarweed Aquatic Plant Harvester's Monthly Reports DFW 113A in one or more months during the current annual fishery quota period.
b. Licensed harvesters who indicated “Bull Kelp (Human Consumption)” on their Kelp Harvesting License and Drying Application DFW 658 and licensed harvesters who did not indicate “Bull Kelp (Human Consumption)” on their Kelp Harvesting License and Drying Application DFW 658 but have reported take of bull kelp in Del Norte and/or Humboldt counties on their Commercial Edible Seaweed/Agarweed Aquatic Plant Harvester's Monthly Reports DFW 113A in one or more months during the current annual fishery quota period shall be allotted the amount calculated in subsection 165(c)(9)(B)1.a. If the allotment exceeds the amount remaining in a licensed harvester's annual license quota specified in subsection 165(e)(2)(A), the licensed harvester's allotment shall be decreased to the amount remaining in the licensed harvester's annual license quota and the amount of the allotment in excess of the licensed harvester's annual license quota shall be divided equally between the remaining licensed harvester(s) who have not exceeded their annual license quota specified in subsection 165(e)(2)(A). Prior to reopening the fishery, the department shall notify licensed harvesters via email of their allotted amount.
2. The department shall inform the public by posting a notice on its webpage https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Marine/Kelp/Commerical-Harvest and shall notify commercial kelp harvester license holders by email prior to any implementation of a temporary closure pursuant to subsection 165(c)(9)(B)1., allotments pursuant to subsections 165(c)(9)(B)1. through 165(c)(9)(B)1.b., or an annual closure triggered by the annual overall fishery quota. (Note: A department status report on progress toward the annual overall fishery quota is updated weekly and available at https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Marine/Kelp/Commerical-Harvest.)
4. All harvest in excess of the annual overall fishery quota or allotments shall be forfeited to the department by signing a Release of Property DFW 1108 incorporated by reference in Section 705.1. The excess harvest shall be used, sold, disposed of, or donated to a non-profit institution. If sold, the proceeds of all such sales shall be paid into the Fish and Game Preservation Fund.
1. In addition to monthly reporting, persons harvesting bull kelp in Humboldt and Del Norte counties must submit weekly reports by email to [email protected].
2. Weekly harvest reports shall be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on each Monday for the Sunday through Saturday of the preceding week. Weekly harvest reporting is required for the duration of the annual license unless the harvester provides a notice via email to [email protected] that bull kelp will not be harvested within a specified time frame or no longer occur for the remainder of the license year.
3. Harvest reporting shall be provided in the email body and shall include business name, business contact name, harvester license number, amount of harvest in pounds by county in which harvest occurred, and time period of harvest which includes the month, specific calendar days of harvest, and year.
(A) All agar-bearing plants must be harvested by cutting, except that drift or loose plants may be picked up by the harvester. Agar-bearing plants may be cut no closer than two inches to the holdfast and no holdfast may be removed or disturbed. All agar-bearing plants which are removed from a bed must be taken from the water for weighing and processing.
(C) When harvesting agar-bearing plants, the harvester's license number will be legibly displayed on both sides of the boat from which they are operating in 10-inch black numbers on a white background. However, on boats less than 12 feet long, the harvester's license number may be displayed no smaller than 6-inch black numbers on a white background on both sides of the boat from which they are operating. All harvester's license numbers must be kept clearly legible, kept in good repair, and the harvester must ensure that the harvester's license number is not obstructed from view.
(A) Unless otherwise prohibited, in addition to open or leasable beds, bull kelp may be harvested for human consumption in a closed or lease-only administrative kelp beds described in subsection 165.5(k) if the beds are not leased. Persons operating under the authority of an edible seaweed harvesters license may take, not to exceed, 2 tons (4,000 lbs) of bull kelp annually per license. The entire plant may be harvested.
(g) Commercially manufactured and processed food for human consumption in California is regulated by the California Department of Public Health. Commercial marine algae harvesters shall refer to the California Department of Public Health for information on regulations, requirements, and permitting for commercially manufactured and processed food.
Credits
Note: Authority cited: Sections 6653 and 6653.5, Fish and Game Code. Reference: Sections 51, 6650, 6651, 6652, 6653, 6653.5, 6654, 6656 and 6680, Fish and Game Code.
History
1. Amendment of subsection (a)(3) filed 10-8-69 as an emergency; designated effective 11-10-69 (Register 69, No. 41). For prior history, see Register 69, No. 15.
2. Certificate of Compliance--section 11422.1, Gov. Code, filed 12-17-69 (Register 69, No. 51).
3. Amendment of subsection (a)(1)(E) filed 6-30-77 as an emergency; effective upon filing (Register 77, No. 27).
4. Certificate of Compliance filed 8-24-77 (Register 77, No. 35).
5. Amendment filed 3-9-81; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 81, No. 11).
6. Amendment filed 9-6-85; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 85, No. 36).
7. Change without regulatory effect of subsection (e)(3) filed 5-5-86; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 86, No. 19).
8. Amendment of subsections (a)(2), (a)(3) and (c)(5) filed 1-27-87; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 87, No. 5).
9. Amendment of subsection (c) filed 12-3-90; operative 1-2-91 (Register 91, No. 4).
10. Amendment of subsections (a) and (d) filed 4-18-91; operative 5-18-91 (Register 91, No. 21).
11. Editorial correction of printing error in subsection (c)(3) (Register 91, No. 31).
12. Amendment of subsections (a)(3) and (c)(2), new subsections (c)(5)-(c)(5)(B), subsection renumbering and amendment of newly designated subsection (c)(6), and new subsection (e)(3) and subsection renumbering filed 3-26-96; operative 3-26-96 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(d) (Register 96, No. 13).
13. Amendment filed 10-25-2001; operative 11-24-2001 (Register 2001, No. 43).
14. Amendment of subsection (b)(5) filed 3-8-2005; operative 4-7-2005 (Register 2005, No. 10).
15. Change without regulatory effect amending subsection (a)(3) filed 5-5-2005 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2005, No. 18).
16. Amendment of subsections (b)(1), (b)(3), (b)(3)(D)-(F) and (c)(4)(D) filed 8-22-2007; operative 9-21-2007 (Register 2007, No. 34).
17. Editorial correction restoring inadvertently omitted subsection (c)(5) (Register 2011, No. 5).
18. Amendment of section and Note filed 1-14-2014; operative 4-1-2014 (Register 2014, No. 3).
19. Change without regulatory effect amending subsection (a)(1) filed 5-22-2014 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2014, No. 21).
20. Change without regulatory effect amending subsection (a)(1) filed 6-24-2015 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2015, No. 26).
21. Change without regulatory effect amending subsection (b)(3)(B) filed 8-8-2019 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2019, No. 32).
22. Amendment of section heading, section and Note filed 11-30-2022; operative 1-1-2023 (Register 2022, No. 48).
23. Change without regulatory effect amending subsection (a)(1)(C) filed 3-29-2023 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2023, No. 13).
This database is current through 8/30/24 Register 2024, No. 35.
Cal. Admin. Code tit. 14, § 165, 14 CA ADC § 165
End of Document |