Commercial Fishing

CDFW collects data by sampling the commercial fisheries catch to estimate information such as catch-at-age, sardine size, and maturity. We work with the National Marine Fisheries Service to produce estimates on larval density and egg production by participating in annual CalCOFI (California Cooperative Fisheries Investigations) sea-surveys. The egg production and larval density estimates are used, in turn, to estimate the number of adults it would take to produce those eggs, or spawning biomass. All the data are used in a stock assessment model that predicts next year's abundance through statistical forecasting. For detailed information on this process, please see the Stock Assessment and Fisheries Evaluation (SAFE) report on the Pacific Fishery Management Council's web page.

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.