For current recreational groundfish regulations, see CDFW’s Summary of Recreational Groundfish Fishing Regulations web page. Make sure to check this page for the current seasons, depths, bag limits, and size limits in your management area. As a reminder, groundfish seasons may be subject to in-season changes if catch limits are projected to be exceeded by the end of each year.
Groundfish are federally managed through a number of harvest limits and management measures recommended by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and implemented by the National Marine Fisheries Service. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) works with interested stakeholders, the public and other state and federal entities through the Council process to maximize fishing opportunity for recreational anglers while remaining within federal harvest limits for all groundfish species.
Current seasons, bag limits and depths were crafted to provide fishing opportunities while avoiding critical habitats of species of concern like yelloweye rockfish. Fishing effort can be directed inshore (towards land) or offshore (away from land) of boundary lines. Anglers should always check groundfish regulations before going out fishing.
See California Code of Regulations Title 14, §27.20 (b)(1)(A).
Anchoring, drifting, or transiting in closed areas: In waters where groundfish species or species groups are closed to take or possession but authorized for take or possession in other areas, those species or species groups may be possessed aboard a vessel that is anchored, drifting, or transiting in or through that closed area. While anchoring, drifting, or transiting through an area closed to take and/ or possession of these groundfish species or species groups, no gear may be deployed other than for the take of crustaceans with hoop nets used pursuant to subsection 29.80(b), Dungeness crab traps used pursuant to subsection 29.80(c), and dip nets used pursuant to Section 28.80. (§29.80(b), §29.80(c), §28.80).
Always remember that when transiting through closed areas, the groundfish species or species groups you have aboard must be allowed for take or possession at the time of transit. For example, if you were participating in the 50 fm offshore only fishery, you would be allowed to transit through a closed area with shelf rockfish, slope rockfish, and lingcod aboard. During an offshore only fishery in a Groundfish Management Area (GMA), nearshore rockfish, cabezon and greenling cannot be possessed onboard a vessel anywhere in that GMA, including during transit from a GMA that allows their take. Anglers should always check CDFW’s Summary of Recreational Groundfish Fishing Regulations web page before their fishing trip to be aware of the most up to date groundfish regulations.
If anglers would like to target non-groundfish species and rockfish on the same trip, they would have to prioritize their focus based on the more restrictive regulations.
During the offshore groundfish season, for rockfish, slope rockfish, and lingcod, once the angler is finished with their rockfish targets, they may transit waters shoreward of the 50 fm RCA line with offshore fishery species (shelf, slope rockfish and lingcod) on board as long as no gear is deployed in the water. There is no retention at any time of nearshore rockfishes, cabezon, or greenling (RCG) during the offshore fishery.
During one of the inshore only fisheries, rockfish, cabezon, and greenling can only be taken or possessed shoreward (inshore, towards land) of the 50 fm Recreational Conservation Area boundary line. If anglers intended to participate in a non-groundfish fishery past the 50 fm RCA boundary line, they would have to target the non-groundfish species first, as RCG Complex species and lingcod are closed seaward of the boundary line. Additionally, anglers would need to fish shoreward of the boundary line before targeting RCG Complex species or lingcod.
Seasons for California sheephead and ocean whitefish will no longer align with groundfish seasons, and regulations for these species can be found on CDFW’s Ocean sport fishing "stoplight" page.
Rockfish Conservation Areas (RCAs) are closed areas for west coast groundfish fisheries and for some fisheries that may incidentally take groundfish as bycatch. The RCA boundary line is a connection series of GPS coordinates that are intended to approximate depth contours. Note that these boundaries are not necessarily equal to the depths they represent; fishing may be prohibited seaward or shoreward of the boundary, even when the ocean depth differs. RCA boundaries will be used in to avoid interactions with certain groundfish species of concern.
Recreational regulations can direct anglers to fish shoreward (towards land, inshore) or seaward (away from land, offshore) of different boundary lines. These inshore and offshore fisheries established by RCA and other boundary lines provides anglers access to recreational groundfish fishing while lowering encounters with species of concern. An interactive map displaying the RCA lines can be found here: Map Viewer.
In January 2024, the Cowcod Conservation Areas (CCAs) in California’s Southern Management Area were repealed for recreational groundfish fisheries and non-trawl commercial groundfish fisheries and replaced with eight new and smaller closed areas called Groundfish Exclusion Areas (GEAs). The CCAs were implemented to reduce bycatch of overfished Cowcod, which were declared rebuilt in 2019. The replacement of the smaller GEAs opened up approximately 4,663 sq mi (12,077 sq km) to those two sectors. The CCAs still remain in place for groundfish trawl fisheries. To learn more about GEA definitions, locations, and regulations, visit CDFW’s Cowcod Protection webpage.
Changes made to groundfish regulations are designed to meet but not exceed harvest limits for groundfish species. For groundfish species, a stock assessment is conducted to help determine how much/what volume of fish can be sustainably caught. Based on those stock assessments, management measures are proposed and discussed through the Pacific Fishery Management Council process and are implemented for a two-year period. Throughout that two-year period, many variable factors contributing to fishery performance may require inseason regulatory adjustments such as reduced bag or sub-bag limits, depth boundary/Rockfish Conservation Area lines and season date modifications. These inseason actions may occur quickly to prevent harvest overages.
Groundfish regulations operate on a biennial cycle with the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to meet management goals. Stock assessments are conducted to help determine how much/what volume of fish can be sustainably caught. From these stock assessments, the Council develops harvest limits and management measures (season dates/ size limits, bag limits, depth restrictions, etc.) that are proposed and discussed through a series of Council meetings and then implemented for a two-year period. Through the Council process, CDFW works cooperatively with fishing representatives on the Council’s Groundfish Advisory Panel to develop fishing season alternatives and regulations. Proposed regulations represented in the Council process are developed with the goal of maximizing groundfish season lengths and fishing opportunities in all areas of the state while staying within federal harvest limits of groundfish species.
Impacts on proposed management measures will be analyzed and evaluated by the Groundfish Management Team (GMT), NMFS, and/or Council staff to determine harvest, economic, and community impacts. Once all analyses are reviewed by the Council and public comment is received, the Council will make a final recommendation on the proposed regulations in federal waters (3-200 nautical miles). Once the seasons are decided for Federal waters the California Fish and Game Commission typically adopts similar/conforming regulations for state waters (0-3 nautical miles). To learn more about federal groundfish management and the Council process, check out the Council’s Groundfish webpage.