The 2017 California Commercial Fishing Digest is now available on the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) website. The digest contains information about commercial fishing licenses and regulations. It also includes maps of fishing districts, conservation areas, marine protected areas, and more.
Commercial fishermen will be especially interested in the What’s New for 2017 section of the digest, which includes summaries of new commercial fishing regulations and other information.
Starting this year, CDFW can no longer accept cash at License and Revenue Branch and regional license counters. Individuals may use checks, money orders, or debit/credit cards with a Visa or MasterCard logo to make payments.
Also, beginning with the 2017-2018 California spiny lobster season, CDFW will issue 300 trap tags to commercial lobster fishermen for each Lobster Operator Permit (LOP) they hold. Every lobster trap must have a valid CDFW-issued trap tag attached. Commercial fishermen may hold up to two LOPs, allowing them to fish up to 600 traps. The annual LOP renewal fee includes the cost for the 300 trap tags. CDFW will mail more information about the trap limit and new commercial lobster regulations to each LOP holder in advance of the season, which begins in the fall. Visit the CDFW Commercial Regulations for Invertebrates web page for more information.
The National Marine Fisheries Service has recorded an increased number of large whale entanglements with California Dungeness crab fishing gear over the last few years. A Best Practices Guide that highlights the actions that fishermen can take to reduce the number of whale entanglements is available online. CDFW thanks everyone who continues to work towards a solution to this situation.
Visit the CDFW Commercial Fishing web page for up-to-date California commercial fishing information.
post by Mary Patyten, CDFW Research Writer
Marine Management News 