Title FGC, California Fish & Game Code

No dead, domesticated migratory game bird shall be removed from the premises of a licensed area until there is securely attached to the carcass a seal, and such seal shall remain attached to the carcass until it is finally prepared for consumption. Each such seal shall be supplie…

It shall be unlawful for any person to shoot domesticated migratory game birds on a licensed area without having a valid hunting license as provided by Section 3031. (Added by Stats. 1970, Ch. 1312.)

The licensee shall comply with all applicable federal laws or regulations relating to the releasing and shooting of domesticated migratory game birds. (Added by Stats. 1970, Ch. 1312.)

(a) Fees received by the department from the sale of the Bay-Delta Sport Fishing Enhancement Stamp or validation shall be deposited in a separate account in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund. The Bay-Delta Sport Fishing Enhancement Stamp or validation shall not be required, and…

(a) The department, in consultation with the advisory committee created pursuant to Section 7363, shall develop a grant program to support activities consistent with Section 7361. (b) The department, in consultation with the advisory committee, shall develop priority areas for fu…

(a) The director shall appoint a Bay-Delta Sport Fishing Enhancement Stamp Fund Advisory Committee, consisting of nine members. The committee members shall be selected from names of persons submitted by anglers and associations representing Bay-Delta anglers of this state and sha…

(a) The department shall do all of the following: (1) In consultation with the advisory committee, develop a spending plan that focuses on identifying and funding viable projects and monitoring revenues to assist the department in effectively expending available stamp revenues in…

Except as modified by the director pursuant to Section 7652, salmon may be taken under authority of a commercial fishing license and a commercial fishing salmon stamp only in Districts 6, 7, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, and 19. All species of salmon, except silver salmon, may be taken onl…

During the period when salmon may not be taken for commercial purposes in any district, salmon may be sold in that district only under the regulations of the commission. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

It is unlawful to take salmon for commercial purposes at the mouth of Humboldt Bay in those portions of Districts 6 and 7 within three nautical miles north and south of a line drawn due west for three nautical miles from the center of the mouth of that bay. (Enacted by Stats. 195…

Silver salmon may not be sold or possessed in, or transported through, District 6, 7, 10, 11, 16, 17, or 18, during the time when the taking of silver salmon for commercial purposes is unlawful in those districts. (Amended by Stats. 1988, Ch. 1009, Sec. 2.)

Salmon may be sold subject to the exceptions and restrictions contained in this article. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

It is unlawful to gaff, club, otherwise injure, or possess any king or silver salmon under the legal size. (Amended by Stats. 1965, Ch. 189.)

Salmon may not be taken for commercial purposes in District 6 at the mouths of the Smith and Klamath Rivers within three nautical miles north and south of a line drawn due west for three nautical miles from the center of the mouth of each of those streams, or during the months of…

(a) Notwithstanding any measurement requirements under this code, and to implement the department’s salmon tagging program, any person in possession of a salmon with a missing adipose fin, the small, fleshy fin on the back of the fish between the back fin and the tail, upon reque…

The area described in this article is a quail refuge. (Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 132, Sec. 207. (AB 1760) Effective January 1, 2024.)

The following constitutes a quail refuge and shall be designated the Bolinas Quail Refuge: All that area within the County of Marin, within the following boundaries: Beginning at a point on the southeasterly line of the lands of Ludwig B. Freudenthal, as the same is described in …

This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the Circus Cruelty Prevention Act. (Added by Stats. 2019, Ch. 768, Sec. 1. (SB 313) Effective January 1, 2020.)

(a) For purposes of this article, except as provided in subdivision (b), the term “circus” means a performance before a live audience in which entertainment consisting of a variety of acts, such as acrobats, aerialists, clowns, jugglers, or stunts, is the primary attraction or pr…

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, a person shall not sponsor, conduct, or operate a circus in this state that uses any animal other than a domestic dog, domestic cat, or domesticated horse. (b) Notwithstanding any other law, a person shall not exhibit or use any animal other tha…

(a) In addition to any other penalty provided by law, a person who violates this article, or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant to this article, shall be liable for a civil penalty of no more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for each day the person is in violation…

It is the policy of the state actively to ensure the improvement of wildlife habitat on private land in order to encourage the propagation, utilization, and conservation of fish and wildlife resources on those lands now and for the future in cooperation with private landowners. T…

(a) The commission may authorize the department to issue revocable, nontransferable licenses for the operation of wildlife habitat enhancement and management areas on any private lands it determines are suitable for habitat enhancement, management, utilization, propagation, and c…

(a) A license for a wildlife habitat enhancement and management area may be issued to any landholder or combination of landholders upon approval by the commission of an application submitted by the landholder. As used in this article, “landholder” means any person who owns, lease…

The commission shall require the landowners of a wildlife habitat enhancement and management area to post all or part of its boundaries with public land. The commission may require the owners of a wildlife habitat enhancement and management area to post all or part of its boundar…

(a) The commission may adopt regulations necessary for the administration of this article. (b) After notice and a hearing, the commission may revoke the license for any violation of any provision of this code or any regulations adopted pursuant thereto or for any violation of the…

(a) Upon approval of the wildlife habitat enhancement and management plan, the department shall issue a license, which shall be valid for five calendar years, authorizing the taking of those species of fish, game birds, and game mammals designated in the wildlife habitat enhancem…

(a) The commission may require that any fish, bird, or mammal taken in a wildlife habitat enhancement and management area licensed pursuant to this article be marked for identification with a distinctive tag or seal issued by the department prior to being removed from the area. (…

Any landholder who has paid the fee required by this article, has a valid license issued pursuant to this article, and who is conducting activities pursuant to an approved wildlife habitat enhancement and management plan that could be licensed or permitted pursuant to another pro…

(a) It is unlawful to take or possess for commercial purposes, buy or sell, or offer to buy or sell, a whole sturgeon, or part of a sturgeon, including, but not limited to, its eggs, except as follows: (1) A sturgeon, part of a sturgeon, or sturgeon eggs, taken or possessed by, a…

As used in this code, “spiny lobster” refers to the species Panulirus interruptus. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

(a) Subject to this article and Article 1 (commencing with Section 9000) of Chapter 4, a lobster trap, as described in Section 9010, may be used to take lobster for commercial purposes under a lobster permit issued pursuant to Section 8254. (b) The following species may be taken …

Spiny lobsters may be taken only between the first Wednesday in October and the first Wednesday after the 15th of March. Lobster traps may be set and baited 24 hours in advance of the opening date of the lobster season if no other attempt is made to take or possess the lobsters. …

No spiny lobster less than three and one-quarter inches in length measured in a straight line from the rear edge of the eye socket to the rear edge of the body shell, both points to be on the midline of the back, may be taken, possessed, purchased, or sold. Every person taking sp…

It is unlawful to pickle, can, or otherwise preserve any spiny lobster, but spiny lobsters may be preserved by freezing and may be cooked for consumption in the fresh state. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

(a) Lobsters shall not be taken for commercial purposes except under a valid lobster permit issued to that person that has not been suspended or revoked, subject to regulations adopted by the commission. (b) Every person who takes, assists in taking, possesses, or transports lobs…

When a complaint has been filed in a court of competent jurisdiction charging a holder of a commercial lobster permit with a violation of Section 8251 or 8252, and no disposition of the complaint has occurred within 90 days after it has been filed in the court, the department may…

The permit number of the person owning or in command of any boat used to take lobster shall be visibly displayed on both sides of the boat in 10-inch black numbers, one inch wide, on a white background. (Amended by Stats. 1965, Ch. 195.)

Lobster traps may be used to take spiny lobster in Districts 18, 19, 20A, and those portions of District 20 lying on the southerly side of Santa Catalina Island between Southeast Rock and China Point. (Added by Stats. 1984, Ch. 1271, Sec. 3.)

Whenever it is necessary to prevent overutilization or to ensure efficient and economic operation of the fishery, the commission may limit the number of permits that may be issued pursuant to this article. As it determines appropriate to protect the resource, the commission may l…

The refuges described in the following sections are marine life refuges. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

That portion of District 16 consisting of the land and ocean waters within the following boundaries constitutes a marine life refuge and shall be designated the Hopkins Marine Life Refuge: Beginning at the point of intersection of the southeasterly corporate limit line of the Cit…

The following constitutes a marine life refuge and shall be designated the San Diego Marine Life Refuge: That portion of District 19 consisting of that certain strip of land lying between the westerly edge of Pueblo Lot No. 1298 of the pueblo lands of the City of San Diego, accor…

The following constitutes a marine life refuge and shall be designated the Bodega Marine Life Refuge: That portion of District 10 consisting of that certain parcel of land bounded by the line of Mean High Tide of the Pacific Ocean lying between the northern boundary extended nort…

The following constitutes a marine life refuge and shall be designated as the Laguna Beach Marine Life Refuge: That portion of District 19 consisting of that certain parcel of land bounded by a line commencing at the mean high tide of the Pacific Ocean lying on the northern bound…

The following constitutes a marine life refuge and shall be designated as the Newport Beach Marine Life Refuge: That portion of District 19 consisting of that certain parcel of land bounded by the line of Mean High Tide of the Pacific Ocean between the eastern boundary of the Cit…