Title FGC, California Fish & Game Code

Notwithstanding Section 8436, the commission shall adopt regulations which authorize the importation and sale of dead fish of the family Centrarchidae if the fish have been lawfully taken outside of California, they have been taken in another state or foreign country that permits…

The following freshwater fish may be taken for commercial purposes pursuant to regulations adopted by the commission: (a) Threadfin shad (Dorosoma petenense). (b) Species of the following families: (1) Lamprey (Petromyzontidae). (2) Smelt (Osmeridae). (3) Sucker (Catostomidae). (…

The commission may authorize the use of commercial fishing gear and fishing methods to take any fish listed in Section 8437 in those areas of the state otherwise closed to that use pursuant to this code. (Added by Stats. 1988, Ch. 360, Sec. 1.)

Notwithstanding Section 200, the commission shall regulate the taking of freshwater clams for commercial purposes. (Added by renumbering Section 8475 by Stats. 2023, Ch. 132, Sec. 160. (AB 1760) Effective January 1, 2024.)

Any person engaged for profit in the taking, transporting, or selling of live fresh-water fish for bait shall first obtain from the department a live fresh-water bait fish license to possess the fish for those purposes. The commission may prescribe regulations governing these lic…

The annual license fee for a live freshwater bait fish license is fifty-five dollars ($55) for each person. (Amended by Stats. 1992, Ch. 701, Sec. 33. Effective September 15, 1992. Operative January 1, 1993, by Sec. 72 of Ch. 701.)

A license issued under Section 8460 shall authorize the taking of only golden shiners, fathead minnows and such other species as the department may designate, under such regulations as the commission may prescribe. The commission may prohibit in any part or all parts of the State…

Traps not over 24 inches in greatest length nor more than 12 inches in greatest depth or width, or seines of not over 12-inch mesh stretched measure and not more than 4 x 30 feet in size, may be used for the taking of fish of the carp and minnow family (family Cyprinidae), sucker…

The taking of crayfish shall be subject to regulations as prescribed by the commission. (Added by renumbering Section 8491 by Stats. 2013, Ch. 226, Sec. 2. (AB 165) Effective January 1, 2014.)

(a) Any allowance for the commercial taking of crayfish in Lake Tahoe or in the Lake Tahoe Basin shall be for the primary purpose of population reduction and control of the signal crayfish, an invasive species. The commercial taking of crayfish may be allowed only to the extent t…

The department shall take the steps it determines are necessary to prevent overfishing of crayfish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Those steps may include, but are not limited to, submitting to the Legislature proposed legislation to place limitations on the commercial crayf…

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (1) California has the greatest biodiversity of native trout species of any state in the nation. Trout can be found in more than 18,000 miles of California’s cooler streams. California’s trout are the principal sport fi…

The following are native California trout: (a) Coastal cutthroat trout. (b) Lahontan cutthroat trout. (c) Paiute cutthroat trout. (d) Coastal rainbow trout/steelhead. (e) Eagle Lake rainbow trout. (f) Kern River rainbow trout. (g) Goose Lake redband trout. (h) McCloud River redba…

(a) Any vessel using bottom trawl gear in state-managed halibut fisheries, as described in subdivision (a) of Section 8841, shall possess a valid California halibut bottom trawl vessel permit that has not been suspended or revoked and that is issued by the department authorizing …

(a) The following areas are designated as the California halibut trawl grounds: (1) The ocean waters lying between one and three nautical miles from the mainland shore lying south and east of a line running due west (270° true) from Point Arguello and north and west of a line run…

(a) Unless otherwise specified by the commission pursuant subdivision (b), within the California halibut trawl grounds the following requirements shall apply to the use of trawl nets: (1) Open season and hours of operation shall be as follows: (A) Open season shall be June 16 to …

If the director determines that the California halibut resource, or existing fishing operations, within the designated California halibut trawl grounds are in danger of irreparable injury, he or she may order the closure of the area, or portions thereof, to trawl net fishing or f…

Except as otherwise expressly permitted in this chapter, no mollusks, crustaceans, or other invertebrates may be taken, possessed aboard a boat, or landed for commercial purposes by any person in any tide pool or tidal area, including tide flats or other areas between the high ti…

No pismo clam not in the shell may be possessed, except when it is being prepared for immediate consumption. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

Herring may be taken for commercial purposes only under a permit, subject to regulations adopted by the commission. The commission may, whenever necessary to prevent overutilization, to ensure efficient and economic operation of the fishery, or to otherwise carry out this article…

(a) A herring net permit granting the privilege to take herring with nets for commercial purposes shall be issued to licensed commercial fishermen, subject to regulations adopted under Section 8550, as follows: (1) To any resident of this state to use gill nets, upon payment of a…

(a) It is unlawful to take herring for roe on a vessel unless the operator holds a herring permit issued by the department pursuant to commission regulations. The permit may be transferred pursuant to Sections 8552.2 and 8552.6. (b) No person may be issued more than one herring p…

The commission, in consultation with the department and representatives of the commercial roe herring fishery, and after holding at least one public hearing, may adjust the fees charged for permits; including fees for the issuance or transfer of permits, to a level that will not …

Notwithstanding Section 1052, a herring permit may be transferred from a herring permitholder to a nonpermitholder having a minimum of 20 or more herring fishery points, as follows: The permitholder shall mail, by certified or registered mail, to the department and every individu…

The commission may, in consultation with representatives of the commercial herring roe fishery, and after holding at least one public hearing, adopt regulations intended to facilitate the transfer of herring permits, including, but not limited to, regulations that would do the fo…

Herring permits that are revoked or not renewed may be offered by the department for a drawing to persons having 20 or more experience points in the fishery on the first Friday of August of each year. (Amended by Stats. 1989, Ch. 207, Sec. 5. Effective July 25, 1989.)

The commission shall revoke any herring permit if the holder of the herring permit was convicted of failing to report herring landings or underreported herring landings or failed to correctly file with the department the offer or the acceptance for a permit transferred pursuant t…

(a) Notwithstanding Section 8552, a herring permit may be issued to two individuals if one of the following criteria is met: (1) The individuals are married to each other and file with the department a certified copy of their certificate of marriage and a declaration under penalt…

(a) Upon the death of a herring permittee, the permit shall vest in the permittee’s estate or in the surviving community estate, and may be transferred by the executor, administrator, personal representative, or surviving spouse to a qualified pointholder pursuant to Section 8552…

The department shall reissue a herring permit which has been transferred pursuant to Section 8552.2 or 8552.6 upon payment of a transfer fee by the transferee of the permit. Before April 1, 1997, the transfer fee is two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), and, on and after Ap…

(a) For purposes of this article, the experience points for a person engaged in the herring roe fishery shall be based on the number of years holding a commercial fishing license and the number of years having served as a crewmember in the herring roe fishery, and determined by t…

The commission may make and enforce such regulations as may be necessary or convenient for carrying out any power, authority, or jurisdiction conferred under this article. (Added by Stats. 1973, Ch. 733.)

The commission, in adopting regulations for the commercial herring fishery, shall provide for the temporary substitution of a permittee to take herring, if the permittee is ill or injured, by a crewmember aboard the vessel operated by the permittee. The commission may require tha…

The director shall periodically meet and confer with representatives of the commercial herring roe fishery to review regulations and policies of the commission and the department concerning that fishery and to receive recommendations on the regulation and management of that fishe…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the commission shall determine, by regulation, if drift or set gill nets may be used to take herring for commercial purposes. The commission may also determine, by regulation, the size of the meshes of the material used to make such gil…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the commission shall determine if round haul nets may be used to take herring in Districts 12 and 13 and the conditions under which those nets may be used. (Amended by Stats. 1987, Ch. 269, Sec. 17.)

The commission, in determining experience requirements for new entrants into the herring fishery after January 1, 1987, shall require that any person seeking a permit to operate a vessel to take herring and claiming crew experience shall demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the de…

(a) Notwithstanding Section 8394, shark and swordfish shall not be taken for commercial purposes with drift gill nets except under a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit issued to that person that has not been suspended or revoked and is issued to at least one person a…

(a) Notwithstanding Section 8102 or any other law, a permit issued pursuant to Section 8561 may not be transferred. (b) This section shall become operative on March 31, 2019. (Repealed and added by Stats. 2018, Ch. 844, Sec. 5. (SB 1017) Effective January 1, 2019. Section operati…

Applications delivered to a department office after April 30, or if mailed, postmarked after April 30, shall not be accepted unless approved by the commission pursuant to Section 8569. (Amended by Stats. 1998, Ch. 525, Sec. 10. Effective January 1, 1999.)

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), the permittee shall be aboard the vessel and shall be in possession of a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit when engaged in operations authorized by the permit. (b) A permittee may have a person serve in the permittee’s plac…

When the permittee applies for a drift gill net shark and swordfish permit, the permittee shall specify the vessel he or she will use in operations authorized by the permit. Transfer to another vessel shall be authorized by the department upon receipt of a written request from th…

The fee for a drift gill net shark and swordfish permit shall be three hundred thirty dollars ($330). (Amended by Stats. 1996, Ch. 870, Sec. 40. Effective January 1, 1997.)

Drift gill net shark and swordfish permits shall be issued to any prior permittee who possesses a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit issued pursuant to this section, but only if the permittee meets both of the following requirements: (a) Possesses a valid permit for …

Any person holding a valid drift gill net shark and swordfish permit on or after January 1, 2000, who did not make, on or after January 1, 2000, the minimum landings required under subdivision (c) of Section 8568, as amended by Section 11 of Chapter 525 of the Statutes of 1998, i…

The commission may establish conditions for the issuance of a permit if the person’s drift gill net shark and swordfish permit was revoked during a preceding season or if the person possessed a valid permit during the preceding season but did not apply for renewal of his or her p…