Fisheries.

Existing law requires the Fish and Game Commission to establish fish hatcheries for the purposes of stocking the waters of California with fish, and requires the Department of Fish and Game to maintain and operate those hatcheries. Existing law requires the Department of Fish and Game to prepare and maintain a detailed and comprehensive program for the protection and increase of salmon, steelhead trout, and anadromous fisheries. This bill would require the department to conduct a prescribed 3-year study to assess interactions between hatchery fish and naturally spawned fish, as defined, and to develop hatchery and stream management practices to ensure the viability of fish populations and to sustainably support fisheries. The department would be required, on or before January 1, 2014, to prepare and submit to the Legislature a report on the study. The bill would require the department to establish a study team of not fewer than 12 members, with membership as prescribed.