Title FGC — California Fish & Game Code

It is unlawful willfully to disturb or injure any net, trap, or other apparatus to take fish which is being legally used in the waters of this state. This section does not apply to employees of the department while they are engaged in the performance of their official duties.

The department or any person authorized by it may use any net or other appliance in any district for the purpose of recovering fish from overflowed areas or landlocked sloughs or ponds where they have been left isolated by receding streams or floodwaters. (Enacted by Stats. 1957,…

It is unlawful for any person possessing or operating any type of net, trap, or line that is subject to federal groundfish regulations adopted pursuant to the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C., Sec. 1801 et seq.) to possess or land any load of fish in vi…

Notwithstanding Sections 8660, 8665, 8724, and 8780, the commission may, after a public hearing, when it determines that it is in the best interests of the state’s marine resources and fisheries, adopt regulations, authorizing the use of nets not less than 75 feet from any privat…

The Legislature finds and declares that: (a) The central California nearshore gill and trammel net fisheries for California halibut (Paralichthys californicus) and white croaker (Genyonemus lineatus) and the use of gill nets in these fisheries are expanding at a rapid rate. (b) T…

The Marine Resources Protection Act of 1990 (Art. X B, Cal. Const.) was adopted as an initiative constitutional amendment at the November 6, 1990, general election. This article codifies and implements that initiative constitutional amendment.

It is unlawful for any person to take, possess, receive, transport, purchase, sell, barter, or process any fish obtained in violation of this article.

To increase the state’s scientific and biological information on the ocean fisheries of this state, the department shall establish a program whereby it can monitor and evaluate the daily landings of fish by commercial fishermen who are permitted under this article to take these f…

The penalty for a violation of Section 8610.3 or 8610.4 is as specified in Section 12003.5.

(a) Prior to January 1, 1994, the commission shall establish four new ecological reserves in ocean waters along the mainland coast. Each ecological reserve shall have a surface area of at least two square miles. The commission shall restrict the use of these ecological reserves t…

This article does not preempt or supersede any other closures to protect any other wildlife, including sea otters, whales, and shorebirds.

If any provision of this article or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this article which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end th…

(a) “District” for the purposes of this article and of Article X B of the California Constitution means a fish and game district as defined in this code on January 1, 1990. (b) Except as specifically provided in this article, all references to sections, articles, chapters, parts,…

(a) From January 1, 1991, to December 31, 1993, inclusive, gill nets or trammel nets may only be used in the zone pursuant to a nontransferable permit issued by the department pursuant to Section 8610.5. (b) On and after January 1, 1994, gill nets and trammel nets shall not be us…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, gill nets and trammel nets may not be used to take any species of rockfish. (b) In ocean waters north of Point Arguello on and after November 7, 1990, the use of gill nets and trammel nets shall be regulated by Article 4 (commencing…

The department shall issue a permit to use a gill net or trammel net in the zone for the period specified in subdivision (a) of Section 8610.3 to any applicant who meets both of the following requirements: (a) Has a commercial fishing license issued pursuant to Sections 7850 to 7…

The department shall charge the following fees for permits issued pursuant to Section 8610.5 pursuant to the following schedule: Calendar Year Fee 1991 $ 250 1992 500 1993 1,000

(a) It is unlawful to use any purse seine or round haul net to take yellowtail, barracuda, or white sea bass. (b) It is unlawful to possess any yellowtail, barracuda, or white sea bass, except those taken south of the international boundary between the United States and Mexico, a…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this code, set gill nets and trammel nets with mesh size of not less than 81/2 inches may be used to take California halibut. (b) Except as provided in subdivision (c), not more than 1,500 fathoms (9,000 feet) of gill net or trammel net shall b…

(a) Notwithstanding Section 8625, and where consistent with the determination made pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c), the director may reduce the minimum mesh size permitted for gill and trammel nets used to take California halibut from 81/2 inches to not less than 8 inches in…

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…

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.

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.

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…

It is unlawful for any person to use, operate, or assist in using or operating any net to take salmon, steelhead, striped bass, sturgeon, or shad for commercial purposes in any of the tidal waters lying upstream from the Carquinez Bridge, or to possess on any boat in these waters…

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that it is in the best interest of the people of the state, the commercial fishing industry, and California’s marine resources that fishermen who use gill nets or trammel nets be experienced in the use of those nets. (b) In accordance with S…

(a) Gill nets or trammel nets shall not be used for commercial purposes except under a revocable, nontransferable permit issued by the department. Each permittee shall keep an accurate record of his or her fishing operations in a logbook furnished by the department. The commissio…

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), the department shall not issue or renew a gill net or trammel net permit under Section 8681. (b) The department may renew an existing, valid permit issued under Section 8681, under regulations adopted by the commission and upon payment o…

(a) Notwithstanding Section 8681.5, any person who possessed a valid permit issued pursuant to Section 8681 and who was denied renewal of that permit, may appeal to the commission where evidence can be presented that illness or the loss of a vessel resulted in the person not meet…

(a) The commission shall establish regulations for the issuance of gill net and trammel net permits as necessary to establish an orderly gill net and trammel net fishery. In promulgating regulations, the commission shall consider recommendations of the gill net and trammel net ad…

The fee for a permit issued pursuant to Section 8681 is three hundred thirty dollars ($330).

No incidental catch of swordfish or marlin is authorized by this article. Any swordfish or marlin caught incidentally by a gill or trammel net permittee operating under a permit issued pursuant to Section 8681 shall be delivered to the department. A permit issued pursuant to Sect…

In Districts 1, 2, and 3, gill nets may not be possessed on any boat. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, gill nets may not be used to take salmon, steelhead, or striped bass.