Current through Register 2021 Notice Reg. No. 51, December 23, 2022
(a)
Definition of Contests.
(1) Type A Contest.
Type A contests are those events offering prizes totaling more than $1,000 in
value or with more than 50 participants. Type A contests may not exceed three
days in duration and no more than one Type A event may be held at any water on
the same day for the same game fish category listed in subsection 230(b)(1). If
two or more applicants have requested a permit for the same date for a water,
the application received first shall be given priority except for black bass
contests, see subsection (b)(1)(A) through (D), below.
(See subsection 230(e) re: additional restrictions for
black bass events.)
(2)
Type B Contest. Type B contests are those events offering prizes of $1,000 or
less and with 50 or fewer participants.
(b) Issuance of Permits.
(1) Revocable permits to conduct fishing
contests (including tournaments, derbies or tagged fish contests) may be issued
by the department to any person (as defined by section
67,
Fish and Game Code) authorizing the permittee to offer prizes or other
inducements for the taking of game fish. The department shall issue such
permits if it determines the proposed contest(s) would not be detrimental to
the resource. For the purposes of this section, game fish are defined as the
following: white sturgeon and green sturgeon; American shad; salmon and trout
-all species; goldfish; common carp; hardhead; Sacramento squawfish; western
sucker; catfish and bullheads -all species; striped bass; white bass; black
bass and sunfish -all species; tilapia -all species; sargo; bairdiella; and
orangemouth corvina. Procedures for issuing event permits for black bass
fishing contests are specified in subsections (A) through (D), below:
(A) A random drawing will be conducted by
department personnel to issue Type A permits for black bass fishing contests
during July of the year preceding the contest date. Dates will be determined by
departmental staff. Applications will not be accepted prior to July 1 of the
year preceding the calendar year in which a contest is proposed.
(B) Applicants may submit a completed
application(s) (including appropriate fees) to the appropriate department
office (see Section 230(b)(2)) or attend the random drawings in person.
Applications received prior to the random drawings must be prioritized by the
applicant and if not, will be drawn in chronological order based on the contest
date. Prior to the drawing, a random number will be assigned to each applicant
in attendance and to each group of applications submitted by an individual not
in attendance. A series of random drawings of the assigned numbers will be
conducted by department personnel and one application accepted for each number
drawn. Only one application shall be accepted from each applicant during each
consecutive round of the drawing process. Rounds of drawings will be conducted
until all applications have been accepted, or there are no more available dates
for a given body of water, whichever occurs first.
(C) Immediately following the drawing(s), the
fees for all successful applications not already submitted must be paid to the
department.
(D) Permits for
applications received after the drawings will be issued in chronological order
of receipt, subject to availability.
(2) Application shall be made on a standard
form provided by the department (APPLICATION FOR PERMIT TO OFFER PRIZES FOR
TAKING GAME FISH, FG 775 (Rev. 11/98)), which is incorporated by reference
herein), and shall include the name of the sponsor, if any, and the name and
address of the applicant, the telephone number where the applicant can be
reached, and for each contest: the location and date of the event, total value
of the prizes, and expected number of participants. The application must be
signed by the applicant. Applications for Type B contests should be submitted
to the regional office (see map and addresses of Regional offices attached to
application form FG 775 (Rev. 11/98)) nearest to the applicant. Applications
for Type A permits must be submitted to the department regional office for the
region where the contest(s) is proposed.
(3) The application shall be submitted to the
department at least 30 days prior to the proposed contest(s).
(4) Applications will not be accepted prior
to July 1 of the year preceding the calendar year in which any contest is
proposed.
(5) The department will
consider requests for adjustments to approved Type A contest dates, if such
requests are received by the issuing regional office not later than 30 days
prior to the contest date to be changed.
(6) Permits are not transferable.
(7) Event and Annual Permits.
(A) An Event Permit will be issued for each
Type A contest (see subsection 230(a)(1)).
(B) An Annual Permit will be issued on a
calendar year basis to cover all Type B Contests (see subsection 230(a)(2))
proposed for that year.
(8) Cost of permit: See subsection 699(b) of
these regulations for the fee for this permit.
(c) Observer Requirement. An employee of the
department may be assigned as an observer and be present at any contest. The
applicant shall reimburse the department $100 per day for the cost of the
observer's services and all associated administrative and incidental
costs.
(d) Compliance with Sport
Fishing Regulations.
(1) No provisions of
these regulations exempt any participant in a contest from the sport fishing
regulations, except that the department may, for permitted contests, authorize
an exemption to:
(A) Regulations which impose
an increased minimum size limit larger than 12 inches, a slot size limit, or a
reduced bag limit less than five fish for Type A contests, and;
(B) Daily bag and possession limits for all
permitted black bass contests, insofar that once the daily bag and possession
limit has been reached by an individual angler, that same angler may continue
to fish under the condition that each additional fish caught must immediately
be returned to the water alive and in good condition, or be used to replace a
fish being maintained alive and in good condition from the participant's
livewell or other suitable holding facility.
(2) To prevent the movement of live fish from
one body of water to another, the department also may establish permit
conditions governing the movement of live fish associated with tournament
activities.
(e)
Additional Restrictions for Black Bass Contests.
(1) Insofar as possible, all fish shall be
returned to the water alive and in good condition, except the department may
for scientific or management purposes, take possession of any fish caught
during the contest and provide for retention of unusually large fish by
participants. The department shall notify the permittee or his designated
representative of such exceptions prior to the start of the contest.
(2) All contestants shall have facilities for
keeping bass alive and in good condition. The contest or department officials
shall have the authority to disqualify any individual from competing if
suitable facilities are not available.
(3) Only artificial lures may be
used.
(f) Special
Conditions. To provide for the welfare of fish populations or individual fish,
the department may impose special conditions not specifically covered herein
for any contest. The Department shall provide such conditions in writing to the
applicant when issuing the permit. The applicant shall provide copies or
otherwise inform every participant of the special conditions. It is unlawful
for any person participating in a contest permitted under the authority of this
Section to violate any condition of the permit.
(g) Submission of Reports. Permittees shall
complete and return a report on a standard form (attached to application form
FG 775(6/90)) provided by the department, or an equivalent form, within 30 days
after the completion of each contest. The permittee shall answer all the
questions thereon relating to the contest, so that department personnel may
monitor the impact of such events on fisheries resources.
(h) Revocation or Denial of Permits. Failure
of a permittee to comply with the provisions of this section, and any special
conditions applied under this section, can result in the revocation of current
permits or denial of applications for future permits, as determined by the
department.
Note: Authority: Sections
1050
and
2003,
Fish and Game Code. Reference: Sections
711,
713,
1050
and
2003,
Fish and Game Code.
1. New section filed
1-24-75 as an emergency; effective upon filing. Certificate of Compliance
included (Register 75, No. 4).
2. Amendment of Note filed 10-5-81;
effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 81, No. 41).
3.
Amendment of subsection (f)(5) filed 9-15-83; effective thirtieth day
thereafter (Register 83, No. 38).
4. Amendment filed 4-11-85;
effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 85, No. 15).
5.
Amendment filed 5-19-86; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 86, No.
21).
6. Amendment filed 6-15-88; operative 7-15-88; (Register 88,
No. 27).
7. Change without regulatory effect filed 7-28-88;
operative 8-27-88 (Register 88, No. 33).
8. Amendment filed
9-19-90; operative 9-19-90 pursuant to Government Code section
11346.2(d)
(Register 90, No. 44).
9. Amendment of subsection (b) and
nonsubstantive amendment of NOTE filed 4-18-91; operative 5-18-91 (Register 91,
No. 21).
10. Amendment of subsection (d) filed 2-9-96; operative
2-9-96 pursuant to Fish and Game Code sections
202 and
205
(Register 96, No. 6).
11. Amendment of subsections (a)(1), (b)6)(B)
and (d), including new subsection designators (d)(1)-(3), filed 1-16-97;
operative 1-16-97 pursuant to Fish and Game Code sections
202 and
215 (Register 97, No. 3).
12. Repealer of subsection (d)(2),
subsection renumbering, and amendment of newly designated subsection (d)(2)
filed 2-5-98; operative 3-1-98 pursuant to Fish and Game Code sections
202 and
215
(Register 98, No. 6).
13. Amendment of subsections (b)(2), (b)(4),
(e) and (f) filed 1-19-99; operative 2-18-99 (Register 99, No. 4).
14. Amendment of subsections (a)(1) and (b)(1), new subsections (b)(1)(A)-(D)
and amendment of subsection (b)(4) filed 6-30-2003; operative 6-30-2003
pursuant to Government Code section
11343.4
(Register 2003, No. 27).
15. Amendment of subsection (d)(1),
including redesignation of portion of former subsection (d)(1) to subsection
(d)(1)(A) and new subsection (d)(1)(B) filed 8-23-2005; operative 9-22-2005
(Register 2005, No. 34).
16. Amendment of subsection (b)(1)(A) filed
2-29-2016; operative 4-1-2016 pursuant to Government Code section
11343.4(a)
(Register
2016, No. 10).
