(a) Except as provided in subdivisions (b), (c), and (d), it is unlawful to willfully or recklessly disturb, move, or damage any trap that belongs to another person and that is marked with a buoy identification number pursuant to Section 9006.

(b) A person, who has been issued a general trap permit under Section 9001 and has it in his or her possession, may pull or raise a trap marked with a buoy, if the buoy is marked with a buoy identification number pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 9006. A person pulling or raising a trap marked with a buoy identification number, other than his or her own buoy identification number, shall have written permission in his or her possession from the other person who holds the buoy identification number that is marked on the buoy.

(c) Subdivision (a) does not apply to employees of the department while engaged in the performance of official duties.

(d) (1) Subdivision (a) does not apply to publicly employed safety personnel, including, but not limited to, lifeguards, marine safety officers, harbor patrol officers, and peace officers, who, while engaged in the performance of their official duties, may remove a trap, buoy, or line located in or near breaking surf or adjacent to a public beach if they believe that the trap poses a public safety hazard. If any of those persons remove a trap, a buoy, or a trap or buoy line, any captured marine life shall be immediately returned to the ocean.

(2) Any person described in this subdivision who removes a trap and any attachments thereto identified by a buoy identification number shall make an attempt to contact the person whose permit or license number is marked on the buoy by personal contact, by telephone, by recorded message left on a telephone answering machine, by regular United States Postal Service, or by other means, advising where the property is located. Those persons shall have no responsibility to secure the trap or attachments against loss or damage.

(3) Employees of the department may disclose the name, address, and buoy identification numbers of currently permitted or licensed persons to representatives of public safety agencies described in this subdivision to assist in the return of traps and attachments to their proper owners or operators.

(4) If the person whose permit or license number is marked on the buoy has been notified pursuant to this subdivision but has not retrieved the trap within seven days of notification, or if that person cannot be identified within seven days after the trap has been removed, the trap may be discarded.

(5) This subdivision does not create any duty on any state or local agency to remove or move a trap, line, or buoy that may endanger the public safety and does not create any liability pursuant to Part 2 (commencing with Section 814) of Division 3.6 of Title 1 of the Government Code.

(Amended by Stats. 1994, Ch. 1047, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1995.)