Chapter 26, Statutes of 2017, changed commercial fishing landing fees. This legislation amended Fish and Game Code Section 8051, which reflects the revised landing fee rates by species or species grouping.
Pursuant to Fish and Game Code Section 8041, persons required to pay landing fees include anyone licensed as a fish receiver who receives fish from a commercial fisherman and any commercial fisherman who sells fish to any person not licensed as a fish receiver.
Landing fees must be submitted quarterly to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) pursuant to Fish and Game Code Section 8053. Therefore, starting with the third quarter of 2017 (July 1 through September 30), landing fees must be calculated and submitted using the new fee rates. Additionally, if the landing fees are not paid within 30 days after the close of the quarter a penalty equal to 10% of the fee will be assessed (Fish and Game Code Section 8053, Revenue and Taxation Code Section 6479.3). Following are the deadlines for the quarterly landing fee payments:
Quarter
1st: January 1 through March 31: Payment due by April 30
2nd: April 1 through June 30: Payment due by July 31
3rd: July 1 through September 30: Payment due by October 31
4th: October 1 through December 31: Payment due by January 31
CDFW has updated the Quarterly Fish Landing Fee Report with the new landing fees. The form has been reorganized to show groupings of species and the applicable rate per pound by species, pursuant to Fish and Game Code Section 8051.
The form is available in a fill-and-print format on CDFW’s website at https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=124553
If you have any questions about the new landing fees, please contact Marine Regional Manager, Craig Shuman at R7RegionalMgr@wildlife.ca.gov or at (805) 568-0216. If you have any questions about the new form or payment of fees, please contact License and Revenue Branch Chief, Joshua Morgan at Joshua.Morgan@wildlife.ca.gov or at (916) 928-6888.