Hoop Netting and Diving for Spiny Lobster FAQs
No. Hoop nets cannot be deployed and used in ocean waters south of Point Arguello (Santa Barbara County) within the 24-hour period immediately prior to the start of the recreational spiny lobster season (Title 14, CCR, subsection 29.80(b)(6)). Since the recreational season starts on the Friday preceding the first Wednesday in October each year, this means that hoop nets cannot be placed in the waters south of Point Arguello from 6:00 p.m. on Thursday (the day before season opens) to 5:59 p.m. on opening day.
You may use up to two hoop nets while fishing from a public pier (Title 14, CCR, subsection 28.65(b)).
Between Point Arguello (Santa Barbara County) and the United States-Mexico border, you may possess and use up to five hoop nets if you are the only person operating hoop nets on your boat; however, if there more than one hoop net operator, no more than 10 hoop nets may be possessed or deployed from your boat (Title 14, CCR, subsection 29.80(b)(4)(A)). North of Point Arguello to the California-Oregon border, there is no limit on the number of hoop nets that may be possessed or deployed from your boat (Title 14, CCR, subsection 29.80(b)(4)(B)).
A valid Spiny Lobster Report Card is required for any person who operates (i.e., deploys and/or pulls) a hoop net to catch lobster from your boat. If there are multiple hoop net operators, the surface buoy of any deployed hoop net must be marked with the GO ID number of at least one operator (Title 14, CCR, subsection 29.80(b)). If you are a commercial passenger fishing vessel (CPFV) operator or a licensed guide, your hoop net buoys must be marked with your CPFV registration number or guide license number, respectively.
You may use tape to adhere your GO ID number to a hoop net buoy; however, your GO ID number must still be clear and legible. Please be advised that if the tape falls off the buoy or if the GO ID marking becomes otherwise not legible, you will be in violation of the marking requirements for hoop nets (Title 14, CCR, subsection 29.80(b)(5)).
Both gear types (hoop net and scuba gear) may be on the kayak with you only when fishing for spiny lobster south of Yankee Point (Monterey County). Be advised that north of Yankee Point, scuba cannot be used to take any invertebrates except sea urchins, rock scallops, and crabs of the genus Cancer (Title 14, CCR, subsection 29.05(d)).
Divers may be in possession of spearfishing equipment so long as possession of such equipment is otherwise lawful and is not being used to aid in the take of crustaceans (Title 14, CCR, subsection 29.80 (g)). This means that, while you can hunt for finfish using a spear, you may only catch lobsters by hand on the same dive – the use of any spearfishing equipment to take lobster is illegal.