News Archive

This year you can catch an opportunity to fish throughout California without a fishing license on two Free Fishing Days — Saturday, July 5, and Saturday, Aug. 30.

Last week the California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) continued its decision on the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Plan to its August meeting to allow more time for public and stakeholder review of recent revisions to the draft plan. The June 11-12 meeting of the Commission also brought Butte County Deputy District Attorney Michael Tufaro to Sacramento to be recognized as 2024 Wildlife Prosecutor of the Year.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Charlton H. Bonham has lifted the commercial and recreational take restrictions for human consumption of Pacific sardine in the Southern California Bight. This action comes after receiving recommendations (commercial and recreational) from state health agencies that Pacific sardine no longer pose a human health risk caused by domoic acid.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Charlton H. Bonham has assessed entanglement risk under the Risk Assessment Mitigation Program (RAMP) and announced a season closure in the commercial Dungeness crab fishery in Fishing Zones 1 and 2 (CA/OR border to the Sonoma/Mendocino County line, 38°46.125’ N latitude) to further reduce the risk of entanglement in crab fishing gear.

After two years of closure, the recreational ocean salmon fishery will open statewide for two days on June 7-8, 2025.