California Governor Jerry Brown has signed into law AB 226, known as the “Pacific to Plate”bill. It basically allows seafood markets to operate in public areas just like farmers markets are currently allowed. Specifically, this is what the new law accomplishes:
• Defines Fishermen’s Markets in the state law as “food facilities.” This simplifies process to obtain permits for commercial fishermen to organize under a single permit. This is the same as Certified Farmers' Markets are currently operating.
• Allows fresh fish to be cleaned for direct sale.
Prior to this new law, Fishermen’s Markets were not defined as “food facilities,” which made it more difficult to obtain permits. Also, a special exemption was required to allow vendors to clean fresh fish for direct sales to customers.
