Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 14, § 163.1 - Harvest of Pacific Herring
(a)
Areas. Pacific herring (herring) may be taken for commercial purposes only in
the following areas:
(1) San Francisco Bay.
San Francisco Bay is defined as the waters of Fish and Wildlife Districts
(Districts) 11, 12 and 13.
(A) No net shall
be set or operated to a point of land above mean lower low water or within 300
feet of the following piers and recreation areas: Berkeley Pier, Paradise Pier,
San Francisco Municipal Pier between the foot of Hyde Street and Van Ness
Avenue, Pier 7 (San Francisco), Candlestick Point State Recreation Area, the
jetties in Horseshoe Bay, and the fishing pier at Fort Baker. No net shall be
set or operated within 70 feet of the Mission Rock Pier.
(B) No nets shall be set or operated in the
following areas:
1. Belvedere Cove north of a
line drawn from the tip of Peninsula Point (37° 51' 43" N, 122° 27' 28"
W) to the tip of Elephant Rock (southwest of Pt. Tiburon at 37° 52' 19" N,
122° 27' 03" W).
2. No gill
nets shall be set or operated inside the perimeter of the area bounded as
follows: beginning at the middle anchorage of the western section of the
Oakland Bay Bridge (Tower C at 37° 47' 54" N, 122° 22' 40" W) and then
in a direct line southeasterly to the Lash Terminal buoy #5 (G"5" buoy,
flashing green 4s at 37° 44' 23" N, 122° 21' 36" W), and then in a
direct line southeasterly to the easternmost point at Hunter's Point (Point
Avisadero at 37° 43' 44" N, 122° 21' 26" W) and then in a direct line
northeasterly to the Anchorage #9 buoy "A" (Y"A" buoy, flashing yellow 4s at
37° 44' 46" N, 122° 19' 25" W) and then in a direct line northwesterly
to the Alameda N.A.S. entrance buoy #1 (G"1" buoy, flashing green 4s at the
entrance to Alameda Carrier Channel (37° 46' 38" N, 122° 20' 27" W) and
then in a direct line northwesterly to the Oakland Harbor Bar Channel buoy #1
(G"1" buoy, flashing green 2.5s at 37° 48' 15" N, 122° 21' 23" W) and
then in a direct line southwesterly to the point of beginning, Oakland Bay
Bridge (Tower C at 37° 47' 54" N, 122° 22' 4" W).
(2) Tomales Bay. Tomales Bay is
defined as the waters of District 10 lying south of a line drawn west, 252°
magnetic, from the western tip of Tom's Point (38° 12' 53" N, 122° 57'
11" W) to the opposite shore (38° 12' 44" N, 122° 57' 42" W).
(3) Humboldt Bay. Humboldt Bay is defined as
the waters of Districts 8 and 9.
(4) Crescent City. Crescent City is defined
as Crescent City Harbor and that area of the waters of District 6 less than 20
fathoms in depth between two nautical measure lines drawn due east and west
true from Point Saint George (41° 47' 07" N, 124° 15' 16" W) and Sister
Rocks (41° 39' 31" N, 124° 08' 43" W).
(5) No boats or nets shall be operated or set
in violation of existing state regulations applying to the navigation or
operation of fishing vessels in any area including but not limited to San
Francisco Bay, Tomales Bay, Humboldt Bay and Crescent City Harbor.
(6) All fishing for herring in ocean waters
(except as specified above) is prohibited. An incidental allowance of no more
than 10 percent herring by weight of any load composed primarily of other
coastal pelagic fish species or market squid may be landed.
(b) Fishing Season.
(1) The season shall be open from 5:00 p.m.
on January 2, and close at 12:00 p.m. on March 15.
(A) If the opening date falls on a Friday or
Saturday, fishing shall commence on the first Sunday following January 2 at
5:00 p.m.
(B) If the closing date
of the fishery falls on a Saturday or Sunday, fishing shall close on the Friday
immediately preceding March 15 at 12:00 p.m.
(c) Gear Requirements. Herring may be taken
via set gill nets or small-scale lampara nets that meet the following
requirements:
(1) Gill Net Length.
(A) San Francisco Bay herring permit holders
and Tomales Bay herring permit holders shall fish no more than a total of two
gill nets that are 65 fathoms (one shackle) or less each in length, as measured
at the cork line. Temporary permit holders shall fish no more than one gill net
that is 65 fathoms (one shackle) or less in length, as measured at the cork
line, for each Temporary permit held. Said gill nets shall not exceed 120
meshes in depth.
(B) In Humboldt
Bay and Crescent City Harbor, no permittee shall fish in combination more than
150 fathoms of gill net. Said gill nets shall not exceed 120 meshes in
depth.
(2) Gill Net Mesh
Length. Length of the mesh shall be the average length of any series of ten
consecutive meshes measured from the inside of the first knot and including the
last knot when wet after use; the ten meshes, when being measured, shall be an
integral part of the net as hung and measured perpendicular to the selvages;
measurements shall be made by means of a metal tape measure while ten meshes
are suspended vertically under one-pound weight, from a single stainless steel
peg or nail of no more than
5/32 inch in
diameter.
(A) In San Francisco Bay and Tomales
Bay the average length of the meshes of any gill net used or possessed in the
fishery shall not be less than two nor greater than two and one-half inches,
and the length of any series of ten consecutive meshes as determined by the
above specifications shall not be less than 20 inches or greater than 25
inches.
(B) In Humboldt Bay and
Crescent City Harbor the length of the meshes of any gill net used or possessed
in the fishery shall not be less than two and one-quarter inches or greater
than two and one-half inches, and the length of any series of ten consecutive
meshes as determined by the above specification shall not be less than 22.5
inches or greater than 25 inches.
(3) Set gill nets shall be anchored by not
less than 35 pounds of weight at each end, including chain; however, at least
one-half of the weight must be anchor.
(4) Gill nets shall be marked at both ends
with a buoy displaying above its waterline, in Roman alphabet letters and
Arabic numerals at least two inches high, the official number of the vessel
from which such gill net is being fished. Buoys shall be lighted at both ends
using matching white or amber lights that may be seen for at least a distance
of 100 yards and marked at both ends with matching flags or markers or
placards, all of rigid or non-collapsible material of the same color, on a
staff at least three feet above the water at each end, bearing the fishing
vessel number in contrasting four-inch black letters.
(5) Lampara Gear Requirements. Herring may be
fished by small-scale lampara nets only as defined below in Humboldt Bay by
Humboldt Bay herring permit holders.
(A)
Humboldt Bay herring permit holders fishing lampara gear shall fish no more
than one lampara net constructed of two wings attached to a single central bag
constructed of smaller mesh than and distinct from the wings, with no rings
along the lead line or any method of pursing the bottom of the net. Each wing
shall not exceed 55 fathoms in length, measured along the cork line from the
end of the cork line to the intersection of the wing and the lampara bag, and
the cork line of the bag shall not exceed 18 fathoms in length. The height of
the wings, measured from the lead line to the float line at the mid-point of
the wing, shall not exceed 10 fathoms. No lampara net may be used or possessed
onboard any vessel using or possessing gill nets in the fishery.
(d) Net Tending.
Permitted vessels shall be in the immediate proximity, not exceeding three
nautical miles, of any single gill net being fished.
(e) Temporal Closures. Herring fishing is not
permitted from noon Friday through 5:00 p.m. Sunday.
(f) Noise. All San Francisco Bay herring
permittees, vessel operators, or crew shall recognize city ordinances governing
transient noise sources, when fishing within 500 feet of any shoreline with
residential dwellings, between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. through
implementation of noise reduction measures specified or developed by the
herring fishing industry and approved by the department. Noise reduction
measures include, but are not limited to: noise dampening devices for shakers
and anchor chains, muffled engine exhaust systems, limited use of deck
speakers, and/or reduced speed within 500 feet of shore.
(g) Marine Mammals. The use of explosives,
seal bombs, or marine mammal deterrent devices in the herring fishery is
prohibited.
(h) Retention and
Discards.
(1) All fish taken by gill nets
shall be retained and landed except sturgeon, halibut, salmon, steelhead and
striped bass may not be taken by or possessed on any vessel operating under the
authority of these regulations. All sturgeon, halibut, salmon, steelhead and
striped bass shall be returned immediately to the water.
(2) Only herring may be retained by any
vessel fishing lampara nets under the authority of a Humboldt Bay herring
permit. Herring shall be removed from the water by hand-operated brail or dip
net only and retained onboard the vessel. All other fish wrapped by lampara net
shall be immediately released and shall not be removed from the water or
retained.
(i) Notification Requirements.
(1) Permittees shall notify the department
using the contact information designated on the permit within 24 hours of
beginning fishing for the season.
(2) Permittees shall notify the department
using the contact information designated on the permit, within 24 hours if they
terminate fishing operations for the season prior to the overall quota being
taken.
(j) Landing
Requirements.
(1) Herring shall not be landed
between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. on weekdays, or from 10:00 p.m.
Friday to 6:00 a.m. Monday.
(2) It
is unlawful to transfer herring or herring nets from one permittee to another
or from one boat to another except that non-motorized lighters may be used,
provided they do not carry aboard any gear capable of taking herring, including
net reels, and that the catches of not more than one permittee are aboard the
lighters at any time. Permit vessels shall not serve as lighters for other
permit boats.
(3) A permittee and
their gear must stay together when delivering fish to market.
(4) Any herring taken for commercial purposes
shall only be delivered to a person licensed pursuant to Section
163.5.
(5) The department will estimate from the
current catch rate the time at which the herring season catch is estimated to
reach any quota established in accordance with subsection
55.02(d) and will
publicly announce that time on VHF/Channel 16. It shall be the responsibility
of all permittees to monitor this radio channel at all times. Any announcement
made by the department on VHF/Channel 16 shall constitute official notice. All
fishing gear must be removed from the water by the announced time terminating
fishing operations. The department may announce a temporary closure for the
herring fishery in order to obtain an accurate tally of landings and to allow
all boats to unload. If the fishery is reopened, permittees may be limited to
equally allotted tonnages to preclude exceeding a quota, as may be announced,
and, if necessary, additional time may be granted to reach the
quotas.
(6) All herring landed in
excess of any established quota shall be forfeited to the department by the
signing of a Release of Property form DFW 1108 as set forth in subsection
163(c). Such fish
shall be sold or disposed of in a manner determined by the department. The
proceeds from all such sales shall be paid into the Fish and Game Preservation
Fund.
(7) Any vessel taking herring
by lampara gear, described in subsection
163.1(c)(5),
shall not possess or make landings in excess of 2,000 pounds of herring per
calendar day. Such landings shall be counted along with gill-net landings
toward any annual Humboldt Bay herring quota established in accordance with
subsection
55.02(d).
(A) Herring taken by lampara gear shall not
be landed after 12:00 p.m. on February 14 during a fishing season as defined by
subsection
163.1(b). If
February 14 lands on a Saturday or Sunday, then such herring shall not be
landed after 12:00 p.m. on the Friday immediately preceding February
14.
Notes
Note: Authority cited: Sections 7071 and 7078, Fish and Game Code. Reference: Sections 7056, 7071, 7078 and 7087, Fish and Game Code.
Note: Authority cited: Sections 7071, 7078 and 8550, Fish and Game Code. Reference: Sections 7071, 7078 and 8550, Fish and Game Code.
2. Amendment of section heading, section and Note filed 3-27-2006; operative 3-27-2006 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(Register 2006, No. 13).
3. Amendment of section heading, repealer and new section and amendment of Note filed 2-27-2020; operative
4. Amendment of section and Note filed 11-21-2023; operative
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