The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Substantial declines in various species of desirable fish that are caught in southern California ocean waters have adversely affected sport and commercial fishing and their related industries.
(b) The purpose of this article is to determine if hatchery-released fish can enhance certain stocks of desirable species and contribute to research and scientific understanding of marine hatchery operations and benefits.
(c) Funding for the program is most appropriately borne by a special fund derived from user fees on sport and commercial fishermen who stand to directly benefit from the resurgence of depressed marine fisheries.
(d) The department has continuing resource management, administrative, and policy review responsibility in marine resources issues.
(e) Volunteers from the recreational fishing community have developed and operated grow-out facilities with private funding. These volunteer activities greatly enhance the effectiveness of the program and are fully compatible with the overall program objectives.
(f) As white sea bass hatchery production is established, additional grow-out facilities will be required and coordination between these facilities will be necessary. The ocean resources enhancement advisory panel may encourage contracts to carry out coordination activities and recommend to the director that this coordination remain a high priority. Those coordination activities may be funded with fees collected by the department pursuant to this article.
(g) The use of federal matching funds, including sportfish restoration account funds, shall be a high priority for use to match state dollars for this program.
(h) The department may benefit from contracting with other public or private entities to further the purposes of this article.
(Amended by Stats. 2020, Ch. 345, Sec. 1. (AB 1949) Effective January 1, 2021. Repealed as of January 1, 2028, pursuant to Sec. 6598.)