Title FGC — California Fish & Game Code

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…

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.)

(a) Notwithstanding any provision of Article 3 (commencing with Section 5980) and Article 4 (commencing with Section 6020), on or after January 1, 1972, any new diversion of water from any stream having populations of salmon and steelhead that is determined by the department to b…

Any net or line used to take fish that is anchored to the bottom on each end and is not free to drift with the tide or current is a set net or set line. Any net so placed that it will catch or impound fish within a bight, bay, or estuary, or against the shore upon the receding of…

(a) Set nets and set lines shall be marked at both ends with buoys displaying above their waterlines, in numerals at least 2 inches high, the fisherman’s identification number. (b) Each piece or panel of a set net shall be marked along the corkline of the net, in a manner determi…

(a) The footrope (leadline) of any set net shall have a breaking strength of at least 50 pounds less than the combined breaking strength of the headrope and corkline. (b) This section shall become operative on August 15, 1990.

The length of the meshes of any net shall be determined by taking at least four meshes and measuring them inside the knots or, in the case of knotless nets, inside the points at which the meshes are joined while they are simultaneously drawn closely together.

It is unlawful to use or operate or assist in using or operating any net, trap, line, spear, or appliance, other than in connection with angling, in taking fish, except as authorized by this 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…