Commercial Regulations: Focus on Invertebrates

Only with a valid CPFV license and only during the commercial season in the area you are fishing. No other recreational take of Dungeness crab is allowed from a commercially permitted vessel. In Districts 6 and 7 Dungeness crab vessels with a CPFV license may fish under the provisions of their CPFV license until the close of the recreational season.

You are prohibited from setting trap gear for 30 days prior to the pre-soak of the area you are fishing. After the authorized pre-soak time you may set gear. You may retrieve gear upon the season opening.

No. You may possess up to six (6) derelict traps aboard your vessel. Derelict traps are traps that have been damaged, abandoned or otherwise found at sea while conducting normal fishing operations.

You may contract for another "unpermitted" vessel to deploy your traps under the authority of §8280.7 of the Fish and Game Code.

 You will receive your trap tags before the start of each fishing season.

 The cost of the tags is incorporated into the new lobster operator permit fee.

Regulations do not specify how tags are to be attached. But rather just state that a CDFW-issued trap tag must be attached to the trap and be legible.

Each permit holder should take care to minimize trap loss under the new trap limit program. To cover minor tag loss during the season, permit holders should retain a portion of the initial 300 tags in reserve. For example, if a pulled trap is missing its tag, the permit holder should attach another tag and continue fishing the trap.

Yes, in the event that a permit holder loses 75 or more trap tags due to events beyond his/her control, those tags can be replaced upon CDFW approval. The permittee will need to submit a Lobster Operator Permit Catastrophic Lost Trap Tag Affidavit - DFW 1701 (PDF) for CDFW review.

Yes, a new set of tags will be mailed to commercial fishermen with a valid lobster operator permit before the start of each fishing season.

All traps possessed by a permit holder aboard a vessel are required to have a trap tag attached. This is to help facilitate enforcement efforts of a trap tag program. There is an exception that allows a commercial lobster fisherman to recover six lost or abandoned commercial lobster traps of another. These six traps may be possessed aboard a commercial lobster vessel without a trap tag attached. See section 122.2 (h), Title 14, CCR (link is above).

Not necessarily, the new permit transfer regulation just requires that all trap tags be provided to the new permit holder once the transfer has been approved.  It is up to the current and prospective permit holders to work out how the tags are to be transferred.

Please keep track of the tag numbers, general locations, and dates associated with any lost traps, as this information is requested on the trap loss reporting form and if you apply for replacement tags. For each lobster operator permit that you possess, you are required at the end of each season to submit the completed End of Season Spiny Lobster Trap Loss Reporting Affidavit - DFW 1020 (PDF) by April 15^th to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 3883 Ruffin Rd., San Diego, CA 92123.

The affidavit will help estimate the number of traps lost during a season, and provides CDFW with needed essential fisheries information to help inform future management decisions. The additional spatial information on trap loss will also be useful for informing gear recovery programs, identifying potential conflicts within the marine environment, and for the issue of marine mammal gear interactions.

No, the Commission has declined to adopt the measure at this time.

The recreational lobster season opener start time has changed from 12:01 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. for safety purposes. However, the commercial lobster season will stay the same.

The updated Daily Lobster Log - DFW 122 (PDF) form looks very similar to the old one, except that each page now accommodates two days of fishing instead of three. The field for “nearest landmark” has been replaced with fields for GPS locations (decimal minutes) for a specific set of traps in addition to CDFW fishing block number. “Number of traps currently deployed in the water” is new information being collected and there is now room for up to four (4) landing receipt numbers on the form.

Branding of commercial trap floats is allowed in addition to paint-based markings, so long as the commercial fishing license number is in a “color which contrasts with that of the buoy.”

The new formal CDFW waiver process replaces the note system. Fishermen applying for a waiver must submit a request in writing to CDFW’s License and Revenue Branch at LRB@wildlife.ca.gov or by mail to: Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, License and Revenue Branch, 1740 N Market Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95834 describing why having another lobster permit holder service his/her traps and/or receivers is necessary. The waiver must include the following information: names and permit numbers of the lobster permit holder requesting the waiver and the lobster permit holder to be given permission to pull, service, or transport the traps and/or receivers; proposed time period and location to conduct operations; and trap tag number(s) or number of traps and/or receivers to be pulled, serviced or transported. CDFW may request other related information prior to granting or denying the waiver. The waiver may include conditions CDFW deems necessary. The lobster operator permit holder must have a copy of the waiver in possession when pulling, servicing, or transporting the traps and/or receivers, and may retain lobsters caught in the traps or contained in the receivers unless otherwise specified as a condition of the waiver. 

Yes, lobster traps not retrieved 14 days after the close of the commercial lobster season will be considered abandoned. From 15 days after the close of the season through September 15, an unlimited number of lobster traps may be retrieved by a lobster operator permit holder or a CDFW designee and transported to shore. 

Yes, commercial fishermen are allowed to possess up to two lobster operator permits, with no restriction on the type of lobster operator permits in possession. If a transferable lobster permit is transferred to a person already in possession of a valid transferable lobster operator permit and a non-transferable lobster operator permit, the non-transferable permit is rendered null and void. That non-transferable permit and the trap tags associated with it must be immediately surrendered to CDFW’s License and Revenue Branch. Here is the new Lobster Operator Permit Transfer Application - DFW 1702 (PDF).

Yes, the FMP lists possible management measures to be implemented in the future if needed, including adjusting the trap limit. So yes, it is possible that in the future the trap limit could be increased or decreased. However, this is not expected in the near future.