Ferrigno

BACKGROUND

A supplemental investigation report, which was prepared by agents of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (Department) and was provided to the trial court by defense counsel in support of dismissing the charges, includes a useful backdrop. The commercial take of market squid . . . is one of the most lucrative fisheries in California. The squid are harvested by large permitted commercial seine vessels, which use a seine net to capture up to 100 tons of the nocturnal squid during a night’s fishing efforts.

The squid are attracted to the surface by a permitted light boat, a support vessel which has several high-powered lights that are directed toward the ocean’s surface. Once attracted to the surface, the squid school in a tight aggregate referred to as a “float.”

After the squid are aggregated, one end of the seine net is deployed from the seine vessel using a small support vessel referred to as a power skiff. The power skiff pulls the net in a wide circle around the light boat and the aggregate of squid, while the other end of the net is still attached to the seine vessel. The power skiff then returns its end of the net to the seine vessel. The net is now…