North Coast Abalone Season to Open; New Closure, Regulations in Effect

Media Contacts:
Jerry Kashiwada, DFG Marine Region, (707) 964-5791
Carrie Wilson, DFG Communications, (831) 649-7191

California’s popular red abalone sport fishery season will open April 1 in most waters north of San Francisco Bay. However, new regulations effective this year will close parts of Fort Ross State Historical Park to the take of abalone until June 1, 2012. A map of the closed area can be found online at http://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=42101&inline=true.

DFG photo by Patrick Foy

New Fish and Game regulations this year also mandate that every person taking abalone must maintain separate possession of their abalone prior to tagging. Abalone may not be commingled in a float tube, dive board, dive bag or any other container or device until after the abalone are properly tagged. While individual possession was a common practice in the past, it is now a legal requirement.

A complete list of abalone fishing regulations is available in the 2012 Ocean Sport Fishing Regulations booklet, which is available wherever fishing licenses are sold or at www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/sportfishing_regs2012.asp.

Abalone licenses and report cards are available through the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) Automated License Data System (ALDS) which automatically enters purchases into an active database.

“Abalone report cards are a vital source of information needed to manage this resource and ALDS is a great tool which will allow us to track who has not returned their abalone card,” said DFG Environmental Scientist Jerry Kashiwada. “The cards are required to be returned to DFG by law, but in the past we could not easily determine who did not return their cards and compliance has been lower than needed for accurate catch estimates.”

Cards should be returned to DFG’s Fort Bragg office,32330 North Harbor Drive, Fort Bragg, CA 95437-5554. The return deadline is Jan. 31, 2013 but cards can be submitted early. Abalone report cards must be returned even if no abalone were taken or no attempt was made to take abalone.

The Fish and Game Commission is currently considering adoption of marine protected areas (MPAs) proposed along the north coast region (from Alder Creek/Point Arena, Mendocino County to the Oregon border). The proposals consider discrete areas that may restrict the take of abalone, but do not close the entire region to abalone harvest, and would not affect the 2012 abalone season. To find out more about specific MPA proposals and the location of proposed MPAs under consideration, please visit www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/northcoast.asp.

Abalone cling to rocks, from wave-swept intertidal ledges to deep ocean reefs, where they feed on kelp and other algae. It can take 12 years or more for abalone on the north coast to grow to legal size for harvest and biologists have concerns about the ability of the fishery to sustain current catch rates. Similar to rockfish, abalone are a long-lived species but have generally low rates of reproduction. The last major recruitment event for red abalone occurred more than 20 years ago and recent dive surveys have recorded lower densities of abalone at eight index sites.

Currently, the only sustainable abalone fishery in California is in the northern region of the state, which has remained productive for nearly 60 years. In 2010, the last year numbers are available, the catch estimated from abalone cards and telephone surveys was 234,000. The average catch has been about 264,000 annually for the past nine years.

Steelhead Report Cards Due by Jan. 31, 2012

Media Contacts:
Farhat Bajjaliya, DFG Fisheries Branch, (916) 327-8855
Kirsten Macintyre, DFG Communications, (916) 322-8988

The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) reminds anglers that they are required to return their 2011 Steelhead Fishing Report and Restoration Cards between Jan. 1 and Jan. 31. Anglers are requested to review their cards carefully and complete the information as accurately as possible. Information collected from report cards provides DFG with data necessary to monitor and manage California’s steelhead fisheries.

The Steelhead Fishing Report and Restoration Card is a fishing report as well as a catch report. Steelhead anglers record where and when they fished, even if no fish were caught on a given trip. Anglers are encouraged to submit steelhead report card data online at www.dfg.ca.gov/steelheadcard, but report cards can still be submitted by mail. Information must be submitted regardless of whether or not the angler fished for steelhead.

Those who did not fish for steelhead in 2011 are asked to select the “did not fish” option online or write “did not fish” on the card.

Additional information and a list of frequently asked questions about the program can be found on DFG’s Steelhead Fishing Report and Restoration Card Program webpage, www.dfg.ca.gov/steelheadcard. Also on the webpage is “A Report to the Legislature (July 2007)” that includes an overview of steelhead biology and statewide status, projects funded with steelhead angler dollars, angling data, and monthly angling effort and monthly catch for a majority of California’s streams. Anglers may download a copy or they can request one be mailed to them when they return their Steelhead Fishing Report and Restoration Card.

Anglers who wish to return their Steelhead Fishing Report and Restoration Cards by mail should send them to:

DFG – Steelhead Fishing Report Card
P.O. Box 944209
Sacramento,CA  94244-2090

Recreational Spiny Lobster Season Opens Saturday

Media Contact:
Andrew Hughan, DFG Communications, (916) 322-8944
Kristine Barsky, Marine Region, (805) 985-3114

Recreational Spiny Lobster Season Opens Saturday

The sport season for California’s spiny lobster opens at one minute after midnight, Saturday, Oct. 1, and continues through March 21, 2012.

A California Spiny Lobster off the Southern California Coast. DFG photo by Derek Stein

Regulations governing the sport take of spiny lobster have helped to preserve the tradition of lobster diving and hoop netting in Southern California. The 2011-12 spiny lobster season regulations include:

• Anglers (16 years or older) must possess a valid sport fishing license, enhancement stamp and a lobster report card.
• Children who are under 16 and fishing for lobster must possess a lobster report card.
• Lobster report cards need to be filled out while you are on your fishing trip. Prior to the start of your fishing activity, the card holder must record the month, day, location and gear code on the card.
• When finished fishing or changing locations the fishermen must immediately record the number of lobster taken from that location.

A California Spiny Lobster off the Southern California Coast. DFG photo by Derek Stein

Lobster report cards must be returned to the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) by the end of January of the following year regardless of whether you used the card or were able to catch any lobster. This information is extremely valuable for management, so please don’t forget to turn in your cards. Anglers who fill up a report card can turn in their card and purchase another.

• Spiny lobster taken must measure at least 3 1/4 inches in length, and are measured in a straight line on the mid-line of the back from the rear edge of the eye socket to the rear edge of the body shell.
• The daily bag and possession limit is seven lobsters.
• Divers may take lobsters by hand only.
• For those catching lobster with a Type B hoop net, the upper ring or rings shall be connected to the bottom ring and supported by no more than six rigid support arms, and the assembled frame shall measure no more than 10 inches tall. This is a change in the regulations not printed in the Ocean Regulations or the supplement.
• No more than five hoop nets may be possessed by a person when taking spiny lobster or crab. No more than 10 hoop nets may be possessed aboard a vessel, regardless of how many fishermen are onboard.

DFG has fish samplers working at many launch ramps and beaches, and they’re anxious to interview anglers and measure their lobsters to collect information on this valuable fishery.

The complete set of spiny lobster regulations are contained in the 2011-12 Ocean Sport Fishing regulations booklet, found online at www.dfg.ca.gov/regulations and wherever fishing licenses are sold. More information about California’s spiny lobster is available on the DFG website at www.dfg.ca.gov/marine.
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