Title FGC, California Fish & Game Code

The president of the commission may be a member ex officio of the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission created by the act of Congress known as the “Migratory Bird Conservation Act.” (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

This article shall apply only to conduits described in Section 5987, and conduits with a maximum flow capacity over 250 cubic feet per second of water. In classifying conduits it is recognized that those involving the passage of water through power devices and those of large size…

(a) The department shall examine all conduits. If, in the opinion of the department, a screen is necessary to prevent fish from passing into the conduit, the department shall order the owner of the conduit to install a screen. (b) Except as provided in Sections 5987, 5988, and 59…

An order to install a screen shall be in writing, and shall specify the type, size, mesh, material and location of the screen, the time within which the screen shall be installed, and an estimate of the expense of installing the screen. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

When an order is made to install a screen, the department shall pay the owner of the conduit upon whom the order is served one-half of the estimated expense of the construction or installation of the screen. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

If the expense of constructing or installing a screen exceeds the estimated expense the department shall, upon written notification by the owner of the conduit, inspect the screen, and pay to the owner one-half of the amount estimated to be necessary to complete the construction …

The owner of the conduit shall, within 10 days after completing the installation of the screen, return to the department any surplus money advanced by the department pursuant to this article. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

All money paid by the department to the owner of a conduit pursuant to this article shall be paid out of the Fish and Game Preservation Fund. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

The department shall not pay one-half of the expense of the construction and installation of any screen as provided in Sections 5981, 5983, and 5984 to any person engaged in producing, generating, transmitting, delivering, or furnishing electricity for light, heat or power. If th…

When a screen has been installed, the owner may, by written notice within 90 days after such installation, request the department to inspect the screen for the purpose of accepting it. Thereupon it is the duty of the department to inspect the screen, and if it has been installed …

After acceptance, should the screen fail to function in an efficient manner, no changes in conditions affecting its operation having occurred subsequent to the acceptance of the screen, the owner shall not be required to install a new screen. However, the department may install a…

It is unlawful for the owner of a conduit to refuse, fail, or neglect to install a screen in compliance with an order from the department or to permit the screen to be removed or taken out of place, except for repairs or cleaning while water is running in the conduit. (Enacted by…

In lieu of the department’s ordering the owner to install a screen the department may, at its option, elect to construct and install the screen itself, in which event the type, size, mesh, and location of the screen and the time within which it shall be installed shall be determi…

Any screen installed under any of the provisions of this article shall be reasonably adequate to prevent fish from passing into the conduit and not unnecessarily impede the flow of water or prevent the owner from diverting the amount of water he is legally entitled to divert. The…

Before the installation of any screen under the provisions of this article, the department and the owner shall enter into an agreement defining the method of determining the cost of maintenance, repairs, operation, and keeping the screen free of debris, which agreement shall prov…

Any net or trap used for taking fish in violation of the provisions of this code is a public nuisance. It is the duty of every person authorized to make an arrest for such a violation to seize and keep the net and report the seizure to the department. The department may commence …

In lieu of a physical seizure pursuant to this article, any person authorized to make an arrest for a violation of any provision of this code, may attach to any net used for taking fish in violation of this code a tag of metal or other material, which shall be adopted by the depa…

Within three days after the department has been notified in writing that a vessel carrying a seized net has arrived in port, the department may remove the net from the vessel, unless the owner has furnished a bond in accordance with Section 8633. The notice shall be sufficient wh…

When any net is seized pursuant to this article, the owner or any other person otherwise entitled to possession of the net may apply to the superior court of the county or city and county in which the seizure was made, or the county or city and county of which the claimant is a r…

When any net is seized pursuant to this article and the owner or any other person otherwise entitled to possession of the net has filed a bond and regained possession of the net, the person in possession of the net, when in the judgment of the court the net is ordered forfeited, …

(a) Notwithstanding Section 8633, any net or trap seized pursuant to Section 8630 as illegal because of its size, manner of construction, materials used in its construction, or configuration of its parts is presumed to be contraband and shall not be returned pending forfeiture un…

The boards of supervisors of the several counties may establish and maintain fish hatcheries, and may purchase the spawn or ova of fish. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

The commission may negotiate the terms of a compact between the States of Arizona and California with any appropriate officials of the State of Arizona in relation to reciprocal privileges and licenses for hunting and fishing by residents of one of the states within the territori…

This article shall apply only to conduits with a maximum flow capacity of 250 cubic feet per second or less of water, other than those conduits described in Section 5987. If this section is for any reason held to be unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of…

The department shall examine new or existing conduits, and may install, maintain, repair, and replace fish screens, bypasses, or other devices to prevent the passage of fish through a conduit, when in the opinion of the department such a screen or device is practical and necessar…

Sufficient water for a bypass shall be not to exceed the following: (a) Diversions under three cubic feet per second capacity shall not be required to bypass more than 18 gallons per minute. (b) Diversions of three cubic feet per second or more, but under 10 cubic feet per second…

(a) The department shall serve written notice upon each owner of its intention to install a fish screen. (b) The notice shall describe the location of the screen, the access required, and the amount of water required for the bypass. The location of the screen may be described by …

If the owner fails to sign and return the agreement granting the department the necessary rights for the installation of the screen or device within 60 days after its service on him, the department may install the screen as though the agreement had been signed unless a decision o…

It is unlawful for the owner of a conduit to cause or permit a screen to be removed or taken out of place, except for repairs or cleaning, while water is running in the conduit, or to operate the conduit with the bypass closed when the screen is operating as provided in this arti…

Any screen installed under this article shall be such as will be reasonably adequate to prevent fish from passing into the conduit and will not unnecessarily impede the flow of water or prevent the owner from diverting the amount of water he is legally entitled to divert. (Enacte…

This article does not prevent the department from removing or permitting an owner to remove a screen or close a bypass during any part of the year when the department finds that such action will not endanger fish life. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

All money paid by the department to the owner of a conduit pursuant to this article shall be paid out of the Fish and Game Preservation Fund. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

Nothing in this chapter authorizing the use of nets in District 19 or 19A shall authorize the use of any net within 750 feet of any pier, wharf, jetty, or breakwater, except that dip nets may be used subject to the provisions of Section 8870. (Amended by Stats. 1963, Ch. 617.)

Vessels may carry nets across Districts 19A and 20 to open water outside those districts. Vessels carrying nets may enter harbors in Districts 19A and 20 only in cases of distress or emergency. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

No gill net, trammel net, or fyke net may be possessed on any boat in the waters of any district lying upstream from a line drawn between Antioch Point and the westerly tip of Kimball Island and from a line drawn from Point Sacramento across the stream and touching the most easte…

Except in Districts 6 and 7, any net found in, or within 500 feet of the Klamath, Smith, Eel, Mad, Van Dusen, or Mattole Rivers, or their tributaries, is prima facie evidence that the owner or person in possession of the net is or has been using it unlawfully. The provisions of t…

During the period from December 15 to May 15, inclusive, set gill nets and trammel nets with mesh eight inches or greater and less than 12 inches used in ocean waters 25 fathoms or less in depth between a line extending due west magnetic from Point Conception and the westerly ext…

(a) Notwithstanding Sections 8693 and 8724, gill nets and trammel nets shall not be used in those portions of District 17 between a line extending 220° magnetic from the mouth of Waddell Creek in Santa Cruz County and a line extending 252° magnetic from Yankee Point, Carmel Highl…

“Impacted fisherman” for purposes of Sections 8664.5 and 8664.65, means any person who, from January 1, 1986, to December 31, 1990, inclusive, landed a minimum of 1,000 pounds of fish, other than shark or rockfish, in each of at least three calendar years during that period with …

The initial period of effectiveness of an order issued pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 8664.5 shall not exceed 120 days. After a further public hearing, the director may, on the basis of a report prepared by the department on the condition of the local population of any sp…

(a) Notwithstanding Sections 8685, 8687, 8696, and 8724, and except as provided in subdivisions (c) and (d), set or drift gill or trammel nets shall not be used in ocean waters between a line extending 245° magnetic from the most westerly point of the west point of the Point Reye…

In District 118.5, nets may not be used within 750 feet of any pier or dock, except for bait nets described in Section 8780 used to capture live bait and lobster traps authorized for use pursuant to Section 9010. (Amended by Stats. 1985, Ch. 106, Sec. 37.)

The department may issue a revocable permit to take with set gill nets or seines, mullet or carp in the waters of the Salton Sea and in those portions of the New and Alamo Rivers upstream one mile from their mouths as marked by the department, under commercial license, subject to…

No fish other than mullet or carp, and no mullet less than 14 inches in length may be taken or possessed by a licensed commercial fisherman while fishing in the Salton Sea or the New and Alamo Rivers. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

No commercial fishing under Section 8666, 8667, or 8669 shall be carried on within the boundaries of any state or federal game refuge. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

It is unlawful to possess gill nets, seines, or other devices capable of being used to take mullet or carp for commercial purposes, within 500 yards of the Salton Sea and those portions of the New and Alamo Rivers designated as commercial fishing waters lying in District 22, exce…