Title FGC, California Fish & Game Code

The commission may regulate and control fishing boats, barges, lighters or tenders, receptacles or vehicles containing fish, commercial fishermen, packers, reduction plants, plants where fish products are manufactured, and dealers in fish, or fishery products, insofar as necessar…

The department may enter and examine any canning, packing, preserving, or reduction plant, or place of business where fish or other fishery products are packed, preserved, manufactured, bought or sold, or board any fishing boat, barge, lighter, tender, or vehicle or receptacle co…

No sardines, anchovies, mackerel, or squid intended for or used in any cannery shall be unloaded from any vessel except at a weighing or measuring device approved by the Bureau of Weights and Measures. Such products shall be weighed by a public weighmaster licensed as an individu…

The commission may establish grades for different varieties of fish or fishery products, which grades shall be conformed to by persons who take or use sardines for bait or who deliver fish or other fishery products to packers or to fresh fish dealers. Every packer of fish, fish d…

(a) It is unlawful to cause or permit deterioration or waste of a fish taken in the waters of this state, or brought into this state, or to take, receive, or agree to receive more fish than can be used without deterioration, waste, or spoilage. (b) Except as permitted by this cod…

All chutes or conveyors used to convey fish or fish offal to any receptacle, and all receptacles containing fish or fish offal to be used for reduction purposes, shall be so constructed and maintained that the fish or fish offal thereon or therein is at all times open to view and…

(a) A written complaint may be made to the commission against any person who violates Section 7700 to 7705, inclusive, 7707, 7708, or 8075 to 8080, inclusive, or any regulation adopted thereunder, by any person having information or knowledge of the violation. If the person charg…

Any reduction plant in which any fish or any part thereof is used in violation of the provisions of Sections 7700 to 7706, inclusive, 7708, 8151, 8153 to 8157, inclusive, and 8075 to 8080, inclusive, of this code, or in violation of any regulation of the commission, is a nuisance…

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. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

The commission may establish rules and regulations for the commercial taking of fish for educational and scientific purposes. (Added by Stats. 1969, Ch. 689.)

(a) If the director determines, based on the best available scientific information, or other relevant information that the director possesses or receives, and on at least one public hearing in the area of the fishery, that taking in a fishery is being conducted in a manner that i…

A closure or restriction under Section 7710, or the removal of a closure or restriction under Section 7710.5, may be appealed to the commission. The commission shall hear and decide the appeal within a time that is meaningful, taking into account the duration of the fishery and t…

If, during the period that regulations adopted pursuant to Section 7710 are effective, the director determines, based on thorough and adequate scientific evidence and at least one public hearing in the area of the fishery, that any species or subspecies the taking of which was pr…

(a) A person shall, upon request by an authorized agent or employee of the department, immediately relinquish, at no charge, fish or parts of fish caught or landed in California to the department for the purpose of collecting a biological sample. (b) For purposes of this section,…

Where a fishery is closed or restricted due to the need to protect a fishery resource, marine mammals, or sea birds, or due to a conflict with other fisheries or uses of the marine environment, it shall be the policy of the department and the commission, consistent with budgetary…

The people of the State, through their legislative authority, accept the provisions and benefits of the act of Congress known as the “Migratory Bird Conservation Act,” approved February 18, 1929. Upon approval by the commission, they consent to the acquisition by the United State…

Prior to such approval by the commission, the legislative body of the county concerned shall have given its written consent to the commission for the proposed acquisition. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

If in any year, on lands hereafter acquired, the in lieu payments from the United States to the county, pursuant to the provisions of law, do not equal the taxes assessed on a given project, the department shall pay from income derived from hunting privileges on the project an am…

The consent of the State to the acquisition by the United States of land, water, or land and water for migratory bird reservations in accordance with this article, is subject to the condition that the United States conform to the laws of the State relating to the acquisition, con…

The consent contained in Section 10680 continues only so long as the property continues to belong to the United States and is held by it in accordance and in compliance with each and all of the conditions and reservations as prescribed in this article, and is used for the purpose…

With the approval of the commission, the people of the State, through their legislative authority, also consent to the declaration, withdrawal, or determination of any part of any national forest or power site, and do further consent to the condemnation of any lands lying and bei…

The department, in conformity with such regulations as the commission may prescribe, may issue special Colorado River hunting licenses when the commission finds and determines that under the laws of the State of Arizona substantially similar licenses are authorized to be issued t…

A special Colorado River hunting license may be issued to any person holding a hunting license issued by the State of Arizona. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

A special Colorado River hunting license shall entitle the holder thereof to take only migratory waterfowl and only in, on, or along the Colorado River in accordance with the applicable state and federal laws and regulations or orders made pursuant thereto. (Enacted by Stats. 195…

The fee for a special Colorado River hunting license shall be two dollars ($2), and each such license shall be valid until the end of the calendar year in which it is issued. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this article, every person 16 years of age or older who takes any fish, reptile, or amphibian for any purpose other than profit shall first obtain a valid license for that purpose and shall have that license on his or her person or in his or he…

The owner or operator of a boat or vessel licensed pursuant to Section 7920 shall not permit any person to fish from that boat or vessel unless that person has, in his or her possession, a valid California sport fishing license and any required stamp, report card, or validation i…

(a) A sport fishing license granting the privilege to take any fish, reptile, or amphibian anywhere in this state for purposes other than profit shall be issued to any of the following: (1) (A) A resident, 16 years of age or older, for the period of a calendar year, or, if issued…

(a) In addition to Section 7149.05, the department shall issue a lifetime sport fishing license under this section. A lifetime sport fishing license authorizes the taking of fish, amphibians, or reptiles anywhere in this state in accordance with the law for purposes other than pr…

Notwithstanding Section 7149.05, a sport fishing license is not required for a resident to take a rattlesnake (genus Crotalus or Sistrurus). (Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 683, Sec. 22. (SB 798) Effective January 1, 2016.)

(a) It is unlawful for any person to fish with two rods without first obtaining a second-rod sport fishing validation, in addition to a valid California sport fishing license validation, and having that validation affixed to his or her valid sport fishing license. Any person who …

For the purpose of obtaining a sport fishing license, enrollees in the Job Corps, created by the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 (Public Law 88-452), shall be deemed to be residents of California. (Added by Stats. 1965, Ch. 1086.)

Notwithstanding Section 7145, the director may designate not more than two days, which may or may not be consecutive, in each year as free sportfishing days during which residents and nonresidents may, without having a sportfishing license and without the payment of any fee, exer…

(a) A person shall not take abalone from ocean waters unless he or she first obtains, in addition to a valid California sport fishing license and any applicable license validation or stamp issued pursuant to this code, an abalone report card, and maintains that report card in his…

(a) Fees received by the department pursuant to Section 7149.8 shall be deposited in the Abalone Restoration and Preservation Account within the Fish and Game Preservation Fund, which is hereby created. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, the moneys in the accou…

(a) Upon application to the department’s headquarters office in Sacramento and payment of a base fee of four dollars ($4), as adjusted pursuant to Section 713, the following persons, who have not been convicted of any violation of this code, shall be issued a reduced fee sport fi…

(a) Upon application to the department, the following persons, if they have not been convicted of any violation of this code, shall be issued, free of any charge or fee, a sport fishing license, that authorizes the licensee to take any fish, reptile, or amphibian anywhere in this…

(a) A sport fishing license is not required to take fish by any legal means, for any purpose other than profit, from a public pier, as defined by the commission, in the ocean waters of the state, or while angling at an aquaculture facility site that is registered pursuant to Sect…

Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, California Indians who are bona fide registered members of the Yurok Indian Tribe may take fish, for subsistence purposes only, from the Klamath River between the mouth of that river and the junction of Tectah Creek with it, exclu…

(a) Excepting persons expressly exempted under this code, no person shall use or operate, or assist in using or operating, any boat, aircraft, net, trap, line, or other appliance to take fish or amphibia for commercial purposes, and no person shall cause to be brought ashore, any…

Section 7850 does not apply to any person who is employed by the fish receiver to unload fish or fish products, or to load or unload food and supplies, on or from a commercial fishing boat at a dock. (Added by Stats. 1991, Ch. 80, Sec. 1. Effective June 30, 1991.)

The application for a commercial fishing license shall contain a statement of the applicant’s sex, age, height, weight, the color of eyes and hair, and a statement as to whether or not the applicant is a citizen of the United States. (Amended by Stats. 1992, Ch. 936, Sec. 1. Effe…

(a) The department shall issue a commercial fishing license to any resident who is 16 years of age or older, upon payment of a base fee of ninety-five dollars ($95) for each resident vessel crewmember or resident vessel operator. (b) The department shall issue a commercial fishin…

The department may refund the fees paid for a commercial fishing license or stamp, a commercial boat registration, or a commercial fishing permit to the estate of the deceased holder of the license, stamp, registration, or permit, if proof is provided by the estate that the death…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a commercial fishing license, stamp, permit, or other entitlement for which there is a renewal deadline shall not be renewed after that deadline, except as follows: (a) In addition to the base fee for the license, stamp, permit, or othe…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the department may deny the issuance or renewal of any licenses, permits, or other authorizations to take or possess fish for commercial purposes, or to conduct business involving fish, that are issued pursuant to this part or Division …