Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 12, March 22, 2024
(a) General Provisions. No person shall engage in commercial groundfish fishing except as provided by the Fish and Game Code and regulations provided herein. Unless otherwise specified in this Division, applicable regulations adopted by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce pursuant to the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act and published in Title 50, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Parts 600 and 660 are hereby incorporated and made a part of these regulations. Federal regulations shall be made available upon request from the Department of Fish and Wildlife, Marine Region, email: groundfish@wildlife.ca.gov.
(b) General Definitions. For the purposes of these regulations, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) Land or Landing. The transfer of fish from a fishing vessel. Once offloading begins, all fish aboard the vessel are counted as part of the landing.
(2) Closure. Taking and retaining, possessing, or landing the particular species or species group is prohibited. Unless otherwise announced in the Federal Register, offloading must begin before the time the fishery closes.
(3) Sorting. It is unlawful for any person to fail to sort prior to the first weighting after offloading, those groundfish species or species groups for which there is a trip limit, size limit, quota, or optimum yield, if the vessel fished or landed in an area during a time when such trip limit, size limit, quota, or optimum yield applied. This provision applies to both the limited entry and open access fisheries.
(4) Trip Limits. Trip limits specify the amount of fish that a vessel may legally land per fishing trip or cumulatively per unit of time or the number of landings of fish that may be made by a vessel in a given period of time.
(A) Daily Trip Limit. Daily trip limit is the maximum amount of groundfish that may be taken and retained, possessed, or landed per vessel in 24 consecutive hours, starting at 0001 hours local time. Only one landing of groundfish shall be made in that 24-hour period. Daily trip limits shall not be accumulated during multiple day trips.
(B) Cumulative Trip Limit. Cumulative trip limit is the maximum amount of groundfish that may be taken and retained, possessed, or landed per vessel in a cumulative fishing period, without a limit on the number of landings or trips.
(5) Size Limits and Length Measurement. Total length is measured from the tip of the snout (mouth closed) to the tip of the tail (pinched together) without mutilation of the fish or the use of additional force to extend the length of the fish.
(6) Limited Entry Fishery. Limited entry fishery includes vessels using trawl gear, longline, and trap (or pot) gear fished pursuant to the harvest guidelines, quotas, and other management measures governing the limited entry fishing. Limited entry gear includes only longline, trap (or pot) or trawl gear used under the authorization of a valid limited entry permit.
(7) Open Access Fishery. Open access fishery includes vessels using exempted gear, and longline and trap (or pot) gear fished pursuant to the harvest guidelines, quotas, and other management measures governing open access fishing. Exempted gear includes all types of fishing gear except longline, trap (or pot), and groundfish trawl gear, and includes trawl gear used to take pink shrimp, and spot and ridgeback prawns, and south of 38° 57' 30? N (Point Arena), California halibut and sea cucumber. A State of California limited entry permit is required for the take of sea cucumbers.
(8) Federally Designated Routine Management Measures. Routine Management Measures, identified as catch restrictions intended to keep landings within the harvest levels announced by the Secretary of Commerce and noticed in the Federal Register by the National Marine Fisheries Service, and hereby incorporated and made a part of these regulations. Should any federal management measures conflict with existing statutes, including Fish and Game Code Sections 8496 and 8842(b), or regulations of the commission, the provisions in the statutes or regulations which conflict with the federal management measures are made inoperative.
Note: Authority cited: Section 7652, Fish and Game Code.
Reference: Sections 7652, 7652.2 and 8607, Fish and Game Code.
Note: Authority cited: Section
7652,
Fish and Game Code. Reference: Sections
7652,
7652.2,
and
8607,
Fish and Game Code.
