Changing seasons for rockfishing in the southern sectors

BY MERIT McCREA

SACRAMENTO— New bottom biter regulations went into effect on the 1st. As of July 1, the Southern Central and Southern Management Regions are limited to coastal waters within the 50-fathom line listed in Code of Federal Regulations Part 660, subpart D.

They are found in waters stretching from the 36th parallel north near Point Lopez, Big Sur, south to the Mexican border.

During the planning and discussions it was determined that during these 3 months of the year – from July 1 to September 30 – only coastal scorpionfish will be permitted.

These include: black scorpionfish, black and yellow scorpionfish, blue scorpionfish, brown scorpionfish, calico scorpionfish, Chinese scorpionfish, copper scorpionfish, gopher scorpionfish, grass scorpionfish, kelp scorpionfish, and olive scorpionfish.

However, when reading the CDFW regulatory summary, other scorpaeniform fish species in the “slope” and “shelf” complexes are prohibited from being “taken” only from waters beyond 50 fathoms – the same as the “near shore” complex fish listed above.

In addition, federal regulations do not preclude possession of species living on the open sea (on shelves and slopes) during a purely coastal season.

So it appears that if you catch a deep-water species of scorpionfish in less than 50 fathoms during the inshore-only fishing season, you can keep it.

This will make things much easier for the average angler – he or she will not have to know in which complex a given specimen of scorpaeniform fish is located.

Specifically, it allows anglers to retain cinnabar caught in shallow waters as planned, but without any specific exceptions for this species.

This also eliminates the risk of confusing the yellowtail scorpionfish with the olive scorpionfish, which belong to different depth management complexes but are colloquially called together without any distinction.

The new transit regulations allow anglers to be in areas closed to bottom fishing with bottom fish on board. But if you’re after sea bass, the only fishing gear that can be in the water is traps (only north of Point Conception), hoop nets and other sport-approved “hand landing nets” used for squid.

After the former Cowcod Conservation Area disappeared, new depth lines were introduced, including 50 fathom lines. However, the additional lines were only established around the offshore islands (Santa Barbara and San Nicolas Islands), Cortes and Tanner Shoals.

Therefore, other high offshore points whose depth exceeds 50 fathoms have not been included.

This is particularly true for the Osborn River, which is closed for the current part of the season, reserved for coastal navigation only.

There is also now a requirement to have a “descending device ready for immediate use” as well as an often overlooked requirement to have a landing net no smaller than 20 inches in diameter.

Sport boat crews, this means your pass-brail does not qualify and you actually need to have a landing net on board. Some larger squid brails may qualify though.

Readers interested in the details of these regulations should be aware that federal regulations govern the closure of specific scorpionfish complexes, as noted above.

However, further down in the regulations, this year’s rules only provide dates when specific areas/depths are closed, but do not specifically state that a given complex of scorpionfish cannot be caught or possessed.

This information is located in Part 660, Subpart G of the Code of Federal Regulations. Links to this information are provided in the CDFW Ocean Fishing Regulations Summary Booklet.

Generally speaking, state laws mirror federal laws, but as we saw earlier this season, the timing of initial implementation may be delayed somewhat due to various procedural constraints.

For example, it appears that regulations regarding descending devices are already in state regulations, but they won’t appear in federal regulations until next year.

One final note: Although these regulations and seasons are complex, recreational fishing advocates involved in the rulemaking process had to make the case that recreational anglers could use them to preserve as much of the scorpionfish season and catch limits as possible.

The “simple regulations” alternative would significantly shorten the rockfish season and overall bag limit. This would be intended to only keep catches of a few limiting species below their annual federal limits.

The bottom line is that if you don’t understand these regulations and don’t know the difference between one species of scorpionfish and another, it’s best to book a trip with a professional or go with a friend who has put in the effort to learn how to fish and follow the rules, and has plotted the 50-fathom points, MPA boundaries, and groundfish exclusion areas on their chartplotter, phone, or tablet.