The State has managed the spiny lobster fishery for over 100 years, with specific authority delegated to the Commission in 1961. Since that time, permits have been required to participate in the commercial fishery, which became a limited entry fishery in 1996. Additional management measures include minimum size restrictions (1913, updated in 1955) and seasonal closures (1961) to protect spawning animals, logbook requirements (1973) and gear restrictions (1976).

In 2016, the Commission approved and CDFW implemented the Spiny Lobster Fishery Management Plan (FMP), with additional measures including a 300-trap limit per permittee and a harvest control rule as part of an adaptive management framework to enable adjustments to harvest regulations when particular thresholds in catch or biological status are reached.

Management measures for the recreational fishery include a specified season, a minimum size limit, a daily possession (bag) limit, a “report card” to track catches by location (2008), and a limit on the number of hoop nets that can be used for the pier (2) and boat-based (5-10) fishing (2017).

For more information, please refer to Section 3 of the California Spiny Lobster Enhanced Status Report posted at CDFW’s Marine Species Portal.

The PFMC has lead management authority for the coastal pelagic species (CPS) fishery in coordination with NOAA, CDFW and the Commission. CPS include Northern anchovy, Pacific sardine, Jack mackerel, Pacific (chub) mackerel and California market squid.

The federal CPS Fishery Management Plan (FMP) provides a framework for managing Pacific sardine, Pacific mackerel, northern anchovy, jack mackerel and market squid. (In addition, the CPS FMP prohibits the harvest of krill, and includes Pacific herring and jacksmelt as monitored “ecosystem component species.”) Whereas Pacific sardine and Pacific mackerel are “actively managed” by the PFMC using harvest management measures, northern anchovy, jack mackerel and market squid are “monitored.” (See below for information about market squid governance.)

The CPS fishery is a limited entry fishery, with additional management measures including harvest limits, gear restrictions, area closures, restricted species take l and reporting requirements.

For more information on specific species please refer to the CDFW’s Marine Species Portal.

The commercial Dungeness crab fishery is managed by CDFW, subject to decision-making by the state Legislature, while the recreational fishery is subject to decision-making by the Commission. The Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission oversees the Tri-State Dungeness Crab Committee, established in 1990, through which California’s, Oregon’s and Washington’s lead fishery management agencies consult on issues affecting the coastwide commercial fishery. The California Dungeness Crab Task Force (DCTF), established by the California Legislature in 2008, is an advisory body made up of industry and (non-voting)  environmental non-governmental organization (NGO), California Sea Grant and CDFW representatives to provide input to the Legislature on management measures and other relevant topics.

Following the 2015-16 harmful algal bloom (HAB) event which led to unprecedented delays in the start of the season to protect public health, CDFW has increased its coordination with California’s Department of Public Health and Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA). In addition, increasing concerns about whale and sea turtle entanglements prompted the establishment of the California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group in 2015, with state and federal fishery managers, industry and environmental NGO representatives developing a Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program (RAMP). In 2020, CDFW adopted regulations formalizing RAMP procedures for monitoring the fishery and implementing season delays or closures to minimize entanglement risk.

Management measures for the commercial fishery include the longstanding “three S’s” – size, sex and season specifications – along with restricted access (since 1995) and a tiered trap limit program (since 2013). Restricted access (limited entry) permits and trap tier assignments, most of which are transferable, are assigned to vessels (rather than fishers) based on fishing history. Permittees were assigned to one of seven trap tiers, with allocations of between 175 and 500 traps. The fishery is divided into the central and northern management areas at the Mendocino-Sonoma county line. Since 1994, the Northern area opener has been contingent on the results of pre-season quality testing for meat content under the Tri-State Dungeness Crab Program. The recreational Dungeness crab fishery is managed by the California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) also using the three S’s (size, sex and season measures) along with gear specifications and a daily bag limit (Source).

For more information, please refer to Section 3 of the Dungeness Crab Enhanced Status Report posted at CDFW’s Marine Species Portal.

Groundfish fisheries are jointly managed by the state and the PFMC. In 1982, the PFMC adopted the West Coast Groundfish FMP which covers more than 90 species of bottom-dwelling marine finfish, including rockfishes, sablefish, thornyheads, lingcod, soles and other flatfishes (excluding Pacific and California halibut), Pacific whiting and some sharks and skates. In 2002, the state adopted the Nearshore FMP, which covers 19 finfish species, 16 of which are also covered by the Federal Groundfish FMP.

Management of the commercial groundfish fishery is particularly complex with measures including federal or state restricted access for some sectors of the fishery (since 1994 and 2002, respectively), individual quotas (trawl only) and sector quotas, time and area closures, gear specifications and minimum sizes.

The recreational groundfish fishery is managed by PFMC and the Commission with seasons, gear and area restrictions, catch (bag) limits and minimum sizes.

For more information on groundfish species, please refer to the CDFW’s Marine Species Portal.

The commercial fishery for hagfish is an open access fishery managed by the state. (There is no recreational fishery for hagfish.) Management measures include restrictions on the amount and type of gear that can be used and a prohibition on carrying other trap gear or fishing for other species while hagfish fishing gear is onboard. CDFW dockside samplers collect data on the catch and biological samples for life history studies.

For more information, please refer to the Pacific hagfish Enhanced Status Report posted at CDFW’s Marine Species Portal.

Tunas (including Pacific bluefin, bigeye, yellowfin, North Pacific albacore, and skipjack): CDFW collaborates with NOAA Fisheries and the Pacific Fishery Management Council to manage this fishery under the Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan for U.S. West Coast Fisheries. The fishery is also managed by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) internationally. Management measures set by the IATTC and WCPFC are implemented by Federal management agencies. Management measures include fishing permits and logbook requirements; gear restrictions to minimize bycatch; and fishery observer requirements. There are restrictions prohibiting longlines within 200 miles of shore. Recreationally, both the U.S. and Mexico have implemented specific bag limits to help ensure sustainability. For more information, please refer to the Species-at-a-Glance pages for yellowfin tuna and skipjack tuna at CDFW’s Marine Species Portal.

Swordfish: The commercial fishery for swordfish is managed by the California Legislature and CDFW and by NOAA Fisheries and the Pacific Fishery Management Council under the Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for US West Coast Fisheries. Management measures include state-issued permits for swordfish and (where used) drift gillnet gear, logbook requirements, gear restrictions to minimize bycatch, and federal fishery observer requirements. The use of longline gear is prohibited throughout state and federal EEZ waters off California and the use of drift gillnets is prohibited within 3 nautical miles of the coast and w nautical mile of the Channel Islands, with additional time and areas closures in place to protect sea turtles. Following the passage of California SB 1017 in 2018, CDFW has established a voluntary program to phase out drift gillnets by 2023 and facilitate the transition to selective deep-set buoy gear to target swordfish (Source). For more information, please refer to the Species-at-a-Glance page for swordfish. Recreationally, both the U.S. and Mexico have implemented specific bag limits to help ensure sustainability.

Opah: Opah is a highly migratory species (HMS) of interest, although it is not currently included under the HMS Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for U.S. West Coast. No management measures specifically apply to Opah. However, the fisheries that harvest Opah (commercial HMS fisheries) are highly regulated. For more information, please refer to the Species-at-a-Glance page for opah.

The PFMC has delegated management authority for the California market squid fishery to the State, which adopted the Market Squid Fishery Management Plan (FMP) in 2005. (Market squid is a “monitored” species under the federal Coastal Pelagic Species FMP.) Before 1998, the market squid fishery was an open access fishery, with weekend closures in Monterey Bay and some gear restrictions. Senate Bill 364 (1998) established a moratorium on vessels entering the fishery and initiated a 3-year study to assess conservation and management of the fishery.

Given the impracticality of estimating maximum sustainable yield for this short-lived species, management is based on goals related to ensuring sufficient spawning (somewhat similar to escapement for salmon and related species) to sustain the species. Management measures reaffirmed or adopted under the Market Squid FMP include restricted access for market squid vessels and light boats, a seasonal quota (118,000 metric tons), weekend closures, gear restrictions, and wattage limits and shield requirements for attracting lights, along with mandatory logbooks for both squid vessels and light boats.

For more information, please refer to Section 3 of the Market Squid Enhanced Status Report posted at CDFW’s Marine Species Portal.

Since 2004, when management authority was transferred from the PFMC to the Commission, the commercial fishery for pink shrimp has been managed primarily by the Commission, with some federal oversight related to incidental take of federally managed groundfish species. Management measures include limited entry north of Point Conception (since 2001), the prohibition of trawling in state waters (since 1953, except for designated northern California “pink shrimp trawl grounds” (PSTG), which were closed in 2008), seasonal closures, the required use of bycatch reduction devices (BRDs, since 2001), trawl net mesh size restrictions. The Commission is expected to adopt a Pink Shrimp Fishery Management Plan (FMP) in 2022 which will institute a harvest control rule, require the use of LED lights to help reduce eulachon bycatch and establish a procedure to standardize reporting of pink shrimp weight at the time of landing. Federal regulations that apply to the fishery include limits on incidental groundfish catches, the use of vessel monitoring systems, and area-based restrictions related to federally designated Essential Fish Habitat.

For more information, please refer to Section 3 of the Pink Shrimp Enhanced Status Report posted at CDFW’s Marine Species Portal.

The commercial red sea urchin fishery is managed by the state as a dive-only fishery. The fishery has been managed by the Commission since 1973 when the Legislature delegated its management authority. Divers may use a rake, airlifts, or other hand-held devices to take urchin. Following a rapid increase in effort due in large part to the decline of the commercial abalone fishery in southern California in the mid-1980s, the state instituted several management measures including a non-restrictive permit (1986), minimum size limits (1989), restricted access (1989), and seasonal and within-season closures (1990). The recreational dive fishery for urchins is subject to a daily bag limit.

For more information, please refer to Section 3 of the Red Sea Urchin Enhanced Status Report posted at CDFW’s Marine Species Portal.

The fisheries for rock crab are managed by the Commission and CDFW. For the commercial fishery, management measures include a restricted access program with separate permits required in northern and southern California (2005, divided at Point Lopez in Monterey County), trap design requirements and minimum size restrictions. Since 2010, Southern Rock Crab Trap Permit transfers have been limited to five per year. Recreational management measures include a daily bag limit of 35 individuals, a minimum size, and trap design requirements.

For more information, please refer to Section 3 of the Rock Crab Enhanced Status Report posted at CDFW’s Marine Species Portal.

The ocean salmon fishery is managed by the PFMC under the federal Pacific Coast Salmon FMP and includes a Tribal fishery in addition to commercial and recreational fisheries. The state manages the fishery for salmon caught in state waters (within 3 miles of shore or in freshwater), with its ocean salmon regulations automatically conforming to federal regulations. The Salmon FMP specifies seasonal and spatial closures that vary by defined subareas along the coast: the Klamath Management Zone (Oregon/California state line to Horse Mountain), the Fort Bragg Management Zone (Horse Mountain to Point Arena), the San Francisco Management Zone (Point Arena to Pigeon Point), and the Monterey area (Pigeon Point to the US/Mexico border). The Klamath Management Zone has special restrictions due to the allocation of 50% of the allowable catch to the Yurok and Hoopa Tribes whose ancestral lands include the Klamath River area. Management measures for the non-tribal fisheries include seasonal and spatial closures, gear specifications, and minimum size restrictions, along with limited entry in the commercial fishery (since 1982).

For more information, please refer to the CDFW’s Marine Species Portal.

The fishery for spot prawn is managed by the Commission and CDFW. Initially both a trawl and a trap fishery, in 2003, the Fish and Game Commission adopted regulations prohibiting the use of trawl gear. The commercial trap fishery is managed using limited entry, a 3-tier trap limit program, trap gear specifications and seasonal closures. The recreational trap fishery, which is very small, is subject to a bag limit of 35 spot prawns per day.

For more information, please refer to Section 3 of the Spot Prawn Enhanced Status Report posted at CDFW’s Marine Species Portal.