Title FGC — California Fish & Game Code

Salmon and steelhead raised pursuant to this article shall be released in streams, rivers, or waters north of Point Conception and upon release shall have unimpeded access to the sea.

(a) The hatchery production and stocking of transgenic species of salmonids is prohibited. (b) As used in this section, “transgenic” has the same meaning as in Section 1.92 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, as that section read on May 14, 2003.

All moneys collected or received from gifts or bequests, or from municipal or county appropriations or donations for purposes relating to conservation programs, projects, and activities by the department shall be deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of the Fish and Game …

(a) The department may enter into one or more agreements to accept funds from any person, nonprofit organization, or other public or private entity for purposes relating to conservation programs, projects, and activities by the department. Any funds received pursuant to this sect…

Notwithstanding any other law, the department may enter into one or more agreements with a person, nonprofit organization, or other public or private entity, as may be appropriate, to assist the department in its efforts to secure long-term private funding sources for purposes re…

Except as otherwise provided, it is unlawful for any common carrier to transport any live protected nongame bird or any live resident or migratory game bird for which there is no open season.

It is unlawful to import or transport any live muskrat (genus Ondatra) into, or possess any live muskrat in, California except under permit issued by the department pursuant to Section 2118, or as otherwise provided by law. A county agricultural commissioner, fish and game deputy…

It is unlawful for any person to receive, bring, or cause to be brought into this state, for the purpose of propagation, any fish, reptile, amphibian, or aquatic plant from any place wherein any infected, diseased, or parasitized fish, reptile, amphibia, or aquatic plants are kno…

Section 2270 does not apply to the importation of live aquatic plants or animals for aquaculture purposes by a registered aquaculturist if the importation has been approved by the department pursuant to Section 15600.

(a) No live aquatic plant or animal may be imported into this state without the prior written approval of the department pursuant to regulations adopted by the commission. A written application for the importation, submitted in conformance with the procedural requirements establi…

Each package containing any live aquatic plant or animal shall bear, in a conspicuous place, a tag on which shall be stated the name and address of the consignor, the name and address of the consignee, and the exact contents of the package.

The commission may adopt regulations that it deems necessary for the disposition of birds or mammals that are killed accidentally.

When adopting regulations pursuant to any authority otherwise vested in the commission by this code, the commission shall annually determine whether to continue, repeal, or amend regulations establishing hunting seasons for black bears. The determination shall include a review of…

Prior to adopting a regulation authorizing a special hunting season for black bears for the purpose of curtailing property damage in any specified area, the commission shall comply with Article 2 (commencing with Section 325) of Chapter 3 of Division 1.

Whenever, because of extreme fire hazard, any area is closed to entry by the public by any order or proclamation issued or concurred in by the Governor the commission may establish a season for hunting or fishing within the area. The season shall commence upon or after the expira…

(a) Whenever after due investigation the commission finds that game fish, resident or migratory birds, game or fur-bearing mammals, amphibians, or reptiles have decreased in numbers in an area, district, or portion of an area or district to the extent that a scarcity exists, the …

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this code, in District 22 the taking of birds, mammals, fish, amphibians, or reptiles shall be subject to regulations adopted, from time to time, by the commission, except that it is unlawful in District 22 to take birds or mammals within o…

For the preservation, protection and restoration of mountain sheep and other birds and mammals in arid regions of the state, the commission, in cooperation with the agency authorized to manage the land, may prohibit any activity, including but not limited to camping, in the vicin…

(a) The commission or any person appointed by it to conduct a hearing may, in any investigation or hearing, cause the deposition of witnesses, residing within or without the state, to be taken in the manner prescribed by law for deposition in civil actions in the superior courts …

The commission may designate salmon spawning areas. It is unlawful to take salmon in any such spawning area, or within 250 feet of any salmon spawning station. (Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)

(a) The commission may issue a permit authorizing any member of the armed forces of the United States or any student or faculty member of an elementary or secondary school in the public school system actually assigned to, and participating in, an organized survival training cours…

The commission may prohibit the taking or possessing of tuna in the same manner as taking or possessing tuna is prohibited by federal law or by rules or regulations adopted pursuant to the Tuna Conventions Act of 1950, as amended by Public Law 87-814 of the 87th Congress, notwith…

The commission at any time may close to the taking of any species or subspecies of bird or mammal any area newly stocked by the department with resident or migratory game birds or game or fur-bearing mammals, or any area where, in the judgment of the commission, added protection …

The commission may at any time close any stream, lake, or other inland waters, or portions thereof, to the taking of any species or subspecies of fish to protect and properly conserve the fish, except for the taking of fish otherwise permitted by this code under a commercial fish…

The commission may open any stream, lake, or other inland waters, or any part of any stream, lake, or other inland waters, to the taking of any species or subspecies of fish for the proper utilization of the fish, for an amount of time specified by the commission, or until new le…

The commission may prohibit the taking or possessing of Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus) in the same manner as the taking or possessing of Pacific halibut is prohibited by federal law or by rules or regulations adopted by the International Pacific Halibut Commission, notwithstandin…

The commission may prohibit the taking or possessing of salmon in the same manner as the taking or possessing of salmon is prohibited by federal law or by rules or regulations adopted by the United States Secretary of Commerce, notwithstanding any other provision of this code.

Any organization conducting a special hunt for servicemen or veterans residing in or assigned to a United States veterans or armed services medical facility may apply to the commission for, and the commission may issue, under such terms and conditions as it may impose, a permit t…

Whenever after due investigation the commission finds that game mammals, other than deer, and fur-bearing mammals and resident game birds have increased in numbers in any areas, districts, or portions thereof other than a refuge or preserve established by statute, to such an exte…

Before adopting a regulation pursuant to Section 325, the commission at an open meeting shall publicly announce the contents of the proposed regulation, and fix a time and place for a hearing on the proposed regulation in each county that would be affected by the regulation. The …

Notice of the hearing shall be published at least once, and at least 10 days prior to the hearing, in a newspaper of general circulation in each of the counties in which the hearing is to be held, or if no such newspaper is published in that county or counties then in such a news…

Such employees of the department as may be necessary or are requested by any interested group of persons, shall be present at the hearing. After the hearing the commission may abandon the proposal or make a final regulation, with any modifications it deems appropriate, or without…

The regulation may fix a license fee for special hunting and designate the number of special licenses to be issued, the area in which such hunting will be permitted, the number and sex of animals or birds that may be killed by each holder of a special license, and the conditions …

Cooperative hunting areas, as described in Section 1575, may be established in connection with any area opened to hunting under the provisions of this article.

(a) The commission may determine and fix the area or areas, the seasons and hours, the bag and possession limit, and the sex and total number of pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana) that may be taken under regulations that the commission may adopt from time to time. Only a …

(a) The commission may determine and fix the area or areas, the seasons and hours, the bag and possession limit, and the number of elk that may be taken under rules and regulations that the commission may adopt from time to time. The commission may authorize the taking of tule el…

(a) The commission may annually adopt regulations pertaining to migratory birds to conform with or to further restrict the rules and regulations prescribed pursuant to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. (b) Regulations adopted under this section are not subject to Sections 11343.4, 1…

(a) Migratory game birds may be taken in conformity with federal laws and regulations and the regulations of the commission adopted pursuant to this article. (b) In the event no regulations are prescribed by the proper federal agency, the commission may determine and fix the area…

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.)

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…

The commission, subject to the approval of the Attorney General, may enter into reciprocal agreements with corresponding state or county official agencies of adjoining states pertaining to the establishment of a basis whereby valid sport fishing licenses issued by the parties to …

The department may exchange or release to any appropriate federal, state, or local agency or agencies in other states, for purposes of law enforcement, any information collected or maintained by the department under any provision of this code or any regulation adopted pursuant to…

(a) The director, or a designated representative, may enter into reciprocal operational agreements with authorized representatives of any Oregon, Nevada, or Arizona state law enforcement agency, including, but not limited to, the Oregon State Police, the Nevada Department of Wild…

(a) A regularly employed law enforcement officer of an Oregon, Nevada, or Arizona state law enforcement agency, including, but not limited to, the Oregon State Police, the Nevada Department of Wildlife, or the Arizona Game and Fish Department, is a peace officer in this state, if…

(a) The commission may adopt regulations for the possession or training, and the capture, importation, exportation, or intrastate transfer, of any bird in the orders Falconiformes and Strigiformes (birds-of-prey) used in the practice of falconry and may authorize the issuance and…

(a) The falconry license shall be valid for a license year beginning on July 1 and ending on the last day of June of the next succeeding calendar year. If issued after July 1 of any year, a falconry license is valid for the remainder of that license year. (b) For the license year…

(a) On or before three years after the date the Legislature makes an appropriation for purposes of this section, and then again on or before eight years after the date the Legislature makes an appropriation for purposes of this section, the department shall prepare a report and s…

The base year for determining the inflationary index applied to the fee established by Section 396 shall be the 1984–85 fiscal year.

(a) A mammal occurring naturally in California that is not a game mammal, exotic game mammal, fully protected mammal, or fur-bearing mammal is a nongame mammal. A nongame mammal may not be taken or possessed except as provided in this code or in accordance with regulations adopte…

Any house cat (Felis domesticus) found within the limits of any fish and game refuge is a nongame mammal, unless it is in the residence of its owner or upon the grounds of the owner adjacent to such residence.