Fish and Law: The Legality of Fishing

NMFS Patrol


California DFG Warden Badge



NMFS Office of Law Enforcement


Many of you were asking about what it means for there to be a "legal" size for a fish or invertibrate cought for sport or commercially. This is a little description of the laws put in place to protect our environment (and marine life populations), how they are created, who enforces them, and the punishments for violations. If any of you have been fishing, you know that once you turn 16, you need to purchase a fishing license for all fishing (freshwater and saltwater), except if you are fishing off of a pier. These licenses are issued by the California Department of Fish and Game. Every state has one of these agencies .

These wildlife resource agencies protect the wild populations of fish and hunted animals, and regulate the numbers taken so their populations continue to thrive. These agencies protect against poachers, polluters and inspect commercial fishing vessels to protect the environment. An officer of the DFG or Department of Fish and Game is known as a "Warden". They are fully certified peace officers, carry a gun and even respond to aid other law enforcement agencies. In state parks and in protected wildlife areas, they can even issue traffic citations. The revenues from the licenses go to marine research, wildlife research, and to help fund the wages/expenses not covered by California's budget. The laws enforced by DFG are created by the California Fish and Game Commission and ratified at the capitol. All of these laws are designed to protect endangered or threatened species, and to ensure that the environment is not being harmed in any way. They make sure that there are enough of all species for future fisherman and commercial enterprises. Periodical scientific research is conducted to survey the populations of various species. DFG also runs fish hatcheries to reintroduce damaged populations back into the wild and help a new population start.

The California DFG enforces many laws ranging from the size of animals caught/hunted (certain sizes are prohibited due to the age of the animal and reproductive state) to how many hooks can be on one line. These regulations can be found in any bait/tackle or sports store and they cover all regulations. There are regulations for all kinds of animals, game (birds/mammals), molluscs (squid, octopus, clams, mussels, abalone, sea urchins) and fish. They also permit special licenses for kelp harvesting, abalone diving/farming and commercial fishing. The Garibaldi (our state fish) is prohibited to catch as well as the Giant Black Sea Bass. Violations are very strict and are taken seriously. Fines are most commonly issued but every citation is a Misdemeanor violation and requires a visit to court. Fines are very high, especially since the DGF's revenue was cut due to the budget crisis. In some cases, depending on the warden and judge, jail time is used as a sentence. All violations are punishable by jail time but fines are most common. For a list of fines, you can visit the law enforcement page of the DFG at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/.

There are also federal law enforcement agencies that inspect commerical and recreational fishing vessels in marine protected areas as well as in ports/airports (smuggling species in to the country even as a pet is a federal offense). These agencies are associated with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlfe Service. These inspectors and enforcement officers are federally trained Special Agents.