California Recreational Ocean Fishing Regulations

This page was updated on March 2, 2022.

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.

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)

Kelp and Ocean Plant Regulations

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.

Additional Resources

2026 Ocean Sport Fishing Regulations (PDF)(external link) sport fishing regulations booklet continually updated with the latest sport fishing information

Ocean Sport Fishing sport fishing regulations, fish identification resources, how-to videos, maps and more

Ocean Sport Fishing Interactive Map fishing regulations, marine protected areas, groundfish conservation area depth restrictions and more from your mobile device

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