Title FGC — California Fish & Game Code

(a) Sea cucumbers shall not be taken, possessed aboard a boat, or landed by a person for commercial purposes except under a valid sea cucumber permit issued to that person, which has not been suspended or revoked. (b) When taking sea cucumbers by diving, every diver shall have a …

(a) Applicants for a sea cucumber permit shall specify by gear type, either trawl or dive, the method in which the applicant intends to take sea cucumbers. The gear type of a sea cucumber permit, either trawl or dive, shall not be transferable. (b) The fee for a sea cucumber perm…

(a) A valid sea cucumber permit may be transferred by the permittee if the permittee has previously held a valid sea cucumber permit for any four permit years and landed at least 100 pounds of sea cucumbers in each of those permit years, as documented by electronic fish tickets w…

(a) The commission, upon recommendation of the department or upon its own motion and in consultation with the sea cucumber fishing industry, may adopt regulations, including provisions governing seasons, gear restrictions, hours of operation, and any other measures that it determ…

This article shall become inoperative on April 1, 2030, and as of January 1, 2031, is repealed.

The department shall manage the Pacific mackerel resource in conformance with the federal fishery regulations as recommended by the Pacific Fishery Management Council and as adopted by the Secretary of Commerce.

Pacific mackerel may be taken under a revocable nontransferable permit issued by the department to boat owners or operators under conditions prescribed by the department.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that the fishery for market squid (Loligo opalescens) is the state’s largest fishery by volume, generating millions of dollars of income to the state annually from domestic and foreign sales. In addition to supporting an important commercial…

(a) No person shall purchase squid from a vessel or vessels unless that person holds a license issued pursuant to Section 8032 or 8033, employs a certified weighmaster, and the facilities operated by the person are located on a permanent, fixed location. (b) Notwithstanding any o…

(a) On or before December 31, 2002, the commission, after consideration of the report and recommendations prepared by the department pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 8426, and, after public hearings, shall adopt a market squid fishery management plan and regulations to prot…

Commencing April 1, 2003, and annually thereafter, the fees for a commercial market squid vessel permit and for a commercial squid light boat owner’s permit shall be established by the commission. The total amount of fees collected pursuant to this section, including any revenue …

(a) Any statement made to the department, orally or in writing, relating to a permit issued under this article, shall be made under penalty of perjury. (b) The commission shall revoke the commercial fishing license, the commercial boat registration of any vessel, and, if applicab…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, nothing in this article shall prohibit or otherwise limit the authority of the director or the commission under any other law.

Sections 8420.5 to 8423.5, inclusive, and Sections 8426 and 8427 shall become inoperative upon the adoption by the commission of a market squid fishery management plan and the adoption of implementing regulations pursuant to Section 8425, and are repealed six months thereafter.

Except as otherwise provided in this article, it is unlawful to sell or purchase any species of trout. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

Dolly Varden or steelhead trout from without the State may be possessed and sold within the State when they are inspected and tagged in accordance with regulations prescribed by the commission. The cost of such inspection and tagging shall be paid by the person submitting the tro…

Steelhead trout from without the State may not be sold or possessed in District 11/2 in excess of the daily bag limit on steelhead trout for that district. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

Nothing in this article applies to trout grown pursuant to Division 12 (commencing with Section 15000).

It is unlawful to sell or purchase any fresh, canned, or cured fish taken in the Klamath River District or in the waters of the Smith River. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

No catfish may be sold, except catfish imported from without the state or catfish grown pursuant to Division 12 (commencing with Section 15000).

Except as provided in Section 8436.5, fish of the family Centrarchidae (Sacramento perch, crappie, black bass, and sunfish) shall not be taken or possessed for commercial purposes, sold, or purchased, other than fish that are cultured pursuant to Division 12 (commencing with Sect…

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.

Notwithstanding Section 200, the commission shall regulate the taking of freshwater clams for commercial purposes.

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.

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 1/2-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), sucke…

The taking of crayfish shall be subject to regulations as prescribed by the commission.

(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) 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…

The director shall, from time to time, employ or appoint, with or without pay, such deputies, clerks, assistants, and other employees as the department may need to discharge in proper manner the duties imposed upon it by law. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

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…

A deputy appointed to enforce the provisions of this code is a peace officer. The deputy has all the powers and authority conferred by law upon peace officers listed in Section 830.6 of the Penal Code to make arrests for violations of this code, and may serve all processes and no…

It is unlawful to take or land krill of any species of euphausiid for any purpose except scientific research pursuant to regulations adopted by the commission. This section applies to krill in the waters of this state and up to 200 miles offshore, as long as federal law does not …

(a) The director may deputize any employee of the department to check persons for licenses required under Section 7145 and to enforce any violation of that section. (b) Before a person is deputized pursuant to this section for the first time, the person shall have satisfactorily …

Notwithstanding Section 18932 of the Government Code, the minimum age limit for appointment to the position of fish and game warden of the department shall be 18 years. An examination for the position of warden shall require a demonstration of the physical ability to effectively …

Regularly employed law enforcement officers of the department may, when authorized by the director, expend such sums as authorized for the purchase of fish, birds, or mammals as evidence, or for expenditures related to the procurement of such evidence, or for expenditures made to…

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.