This law makes it illegal to use explosives in California's fish-bearing waters unless you have a specific permit or there's an emergency need to clear a blockage in the water flow. To get a permit, you must first apply and meet certain conditions. If you're denied a permit, you can appeal the decision. In emergencies, you can use explosives without a permit to clear accidental obstructions in water.

This law allows a department to decide when certain fish are harming birds, mammals, or other fish and take action to reduce their numbers. The commission can set rules for permits to catch these harmful fish.

This law makes it illegal to catch fish just to take their eggs, unless it's to create a breeding population for fish farming as regulated by specific rules set by the Fish and Game Commission.

The Commission will also decide who owns and how to distribute the offspring of wild-caught fish, except for those obtained under certain circumstances noted in another section.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife can give permission, through a letter of authorization, to temporarily take and use marine resources or equipment usually banned in marine areas. This is allowed for urgent situations like collecting data, cleanup efforts, removing hazards, or protecting public health and safety.

These letters are only valid for up to 30 days and cannot be extended. They cannot be used to take protected, threatened, or endangered species. These letters are different from official permits and need to include detailed activity information. The department must keep records of these authorizations for at least five years and share them with the public if requested.

This law allows you to use mollusks, crustaceans, and amphibians as bait or to release them back in the same waters where they were caught.

Under this law, it's illegal to have a fish spear or gaff within 300 feet of a lake or stream where spearing is not allowed. However, there are two exceptions to this rule: you can have a gaff if you're using it while fishing, and you can possess a fish spear or gaff at home.

This law makes it illegal to have fish on a boat or bring them to shore if they can't be measured due to being cut up or cleaned. However, the commission can create rules that set size or weight standards for processed fish that match those for whole fish.

This law makes it illegal to have fish on a boat or bring them to shore if their species cannot be identified. There are exceptions, like if other rules in the code or regulations allow it. The commission can set rules allowing fish from legally licensed boats to be brought ashore even if the species isn't clear, but they must follow certain provisions.

This law allows the commission to make rules to stop fish that are caught for non-profit reasons from going bad and being wasted. They can also make rules about how to get rid of the leftover parts of these fish.

This law states that you cannot engage in any fish breeding or farming activities on a stream above where water is taken for a state fish hatchery unless you have special permission from the department.

This law makes it illegal to keep or kill chinook, coho, or kokanee salmon, or any steelhead, if they weren't caught by biting the bait or lure with their mouth in inland waters. If you catch these fish and they're hooked elsewhere, you must release them unharmed.

This law states that, generally, fully protected fish species cannot be caught or possessed at any time, and no permits or licenses will be issued for this purpose, except for scientific research aimed at recovering protected species. To engage in such research, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife must first notify interested parties and allow them to comment. The research must not be part of a project's environmental mitigation. Fully protected fish include species such as the Colorado pikeminnow and Owens pupfish. Legally imported fully protected fish can be possessed with the department's permit.

This law mandates that if a river, stream, lake, or other body of water is designated for fishing using only artificial flies or lures, signs must be posted at common entry points. These signs should inform anglers about the specific fishing restrictions in place.

In California, it's generally illegal to catch white sharks or use any baits, lures, or chum to attract them, unless you have a special permit or there are specific exceptions. You cannot place shark bait, lures, or chum within one nautical mile of the shore, piers, or jetties if a white shark is around. This also includes using such items to view sharks when white sharks are in the area.

'Shark bait, shark lure, or shark chum' refers to anything used to attract sharks by smell, taste, or sight, such as blood or fish, and includes decoys.

This section expresses the California Legislature's intent for the commission to manage abalone in line with a specific recovery and management plan outlined in another section of the law.

This law places a ban, or temporary halt, on catching, possessing, or bringing ashore any abalone for both fun or business reasons in certain California ocean waters. This ban applies to areas south of San Francisco Bay, including islands like the Farallon Islands and the Southern California Channel Islands. It is illegal to do any of these activities while the ban is in effect.

This law makes it illegal to harvest abalone for commercial purposes in specific areas of California. These areas include certain districts like 6, 7, 16, 17, 19A, and parts of Districts 10 and 20.

Additionally, if a person has more than 12 or more than the annual limit of abalone and they are required to have a fishing license, it's assumed they intend to sell them.

This law allows registered aquaculturists to collect abalone to use for breeding purposes, despite restrictions in other sections. This is aligned with specific guidelines mentioned in another section.

This section requires the development of a detailed abalone recovery and management plan. The plan must include scientific information about abalone biology, goals for species recovery, and a strategy for dividing the harvest between commercial and recreational divers if needed. It should also include cost estimates, timelines, and measurable criteria to assess recovery success.

Funding for this plan comes from abalone report card fees. The plan may propose no-fishing zones and define a sustainable catch limit. By January 1, 2008, the plan might allow reopening of fishing areas, contingent on the commission's approval. If commercial fishing resumes, priority goes to those holding permits from 1996-97.

This law allows the Director of Fish and Wildlife to close or restrict fishing in state waters if fish are found to have high levels of toxic substances, based on scientific evidence. When a health risk is declared over, these restrictions can be lifted. The law also includes rules for navigating through closed waters and outlines penalties for fishing in closed areas. Special rules apply for delaying the Dungeness crab season opening. Importantly, the normal process for regulatory changes does not apply to these actions.