California Recreational Ocean Fishing Regulations

Kelp and Ocean Plant Regulations

All laws or regulations hereunder are either reproduced verbatim from the Fish and Game Code or from Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations (CCR), as adopted by the Fish and Game Commission under authority of the Fish and Game Code.

This page was updated on March 2, 2022.

Also see: General Provisions and Definitions  |  General Ocean Invertebrate Fishing Regulations  |  General Ocean Finfish Fishing Regulations  |  Marine Protected Areas  |  Full Ocean Sport Fishing Regulations Booklet (PDF)Full 2022-2023 Ocean Sport Fishing Regulations Booklet (PDF)(opens in new tab)

30.00. Kelp General.

(a) Except as provided in this section and in Section 30.10 there is no closed season, closed hours or minimum size limit for any species of marine aquatic plant. The daily bag limit on all marine aquatic plants for which the take is authorized, except as provided in Section 28.60, is 10 pounds wet weight in the aggregate.

(b) Marine aquatic plants may not be cut or harvested in state marine reserves. Regulations within state marine conservation areas and state marine parks may prohibit cutting or harvesting of marine aquatic plants per sub-section 632(b) [marine protected area regulations].

30.10. Prohibited Species. No eel grass (Zostera), surf grass (Phyllospadix), or sea palm (Postelsia) may be cut or disturbed.