Section 8420 Of Article 9.7. Market Squid From California Fish And Game Code >> Division 6. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 9.7.
8420
. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that the fishery for
market squid (Loligo opalescens) is the state's largest fishery by
volume, generating millions of dollars of income to the state
annually from domestic and foreign sales. In addition to supporting
an important commercial fishery, the market squid resource is
important to the recreational fishery and is forage for other fish
taken for commercial and recreational purposes, as well as for marine
mammals, birds, and other marine life. The growing international
market for squid and declining squid production from other parts of
the world has resulted in an increased demand for California market
squid, which, in turn, has led to newer, larger, and more efficient
vessels entering the fishery and increased processing capacity.
(b) The Legislature finds that the lack of research on market
squid and the lack of annual at-sea surveys to determine the status
of the resource, combined with the increased demand for, and fishing
effort on, market squid could result in overfishing of the resource,
damaging the resource, and financially harming those persons engaged
in the taking, landing, processing, and sale of market squid.
(c) The Legislature further finds that some individuals, vessels,
and processing plants engaged in the market squid fishery have no
other viable alternative fisheries available to them and that a
decline or a loss of the market squid resource would cause economic
devastation to the individuals or corporations engaged in the market
squid fishery.
(d) The Legislature declares that to prevent excessive fishing
effort in the market squid fishery and to develop a plan for the
sustainable harvest of market squid, it is necessary to adopt and
implement a fishery management plan for the California market squid
fishery that sustains both the squid population and the marine life
that depends on squid.
(e) The Legislature finds that a sustainable California market
squid fishery can best be ensured through ongoing oversight and
management of the fishery by the commission. With regard to the
market squid fishery, the Legislature urges that any limited entry
component of a fishery management plan, if necessary, should be
adopted for the primary purpose of protecting the resource and not
simply for the purpose of diminishing or advancing the economic
interests of any particular individual or group.