The Legislature finds and declares that triploid grass carp have the potential to control aquatic nuisance plants in non-public waters allowing for reduced chemical control but that the threat that grass carp pose to aquatic habitat may outweigh its benefits. It is the intent of this section to allow the department to use its management authority to provide for the long-term health of the ecosystem in the state, including the aquatic ecosystem, and, in that context, manage grass carp either through control of movement, eradication of populations, acquisition of habitat, and any other action that the department finds will maintain the biological diversity and the long term, overall health of the state’s environment. The department shall undertake the management of grass carp in a manner that is consistent with provisions of this code, and, for the purposes of this section, the department shall define management as handling, controlling, destroying, or moving species. The Legislature does not intend for this section to provide a right for the use of triploid grass carp if the department finds that use of the species poses an unacceptable risk to the state’s existing ecosystem.
(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 86, Sec. 136. (SB 1171) Effective January 1, 2017.)