Tuesday, December 14, 2010

New 2011-2012 Groundfish Regulations Delayed

New 2011-2012 Groundfish Regulations Delayed

The California groundfish regulations for 2011-12 recently adopted by the
Fish and Game Commission will not be ready for implementation on Jan. 1,
2011 as planned. These regulations conform to federal regulations adopted by
the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC). However, due to procedural
difficulties encountered within the federal rule making process, the 2010
regulations will remain in place until further notice.

"We are working closely with our federal fishery management partners to
establish an implementation date," said Department of Fish and Game (DFG)
Marine Region Manager Marija Vojkovich. "We will announce the effective date
for the new regulations as soon as it has been established. Until then, we
ask that fishermen continue to follow the 2010 rules."

The new California regulations were developed in collaboration with fishery
constituents, other Pacific states, PFMC and the National Marine Fisheries
Service over the past 18 months.

Anglers are advised to check regulations before targeting federally managed
groundfish, as the proposed 2011-12 changes included modifications to
fishing seasons, harvest limits, bag limits, species compositions, trip
limits, fishing depths and gear constraints for rockfish, lingcod, cabezon,
greenlings, California scorpionfish (sculpin) and other species.

The 2010 recreational and commercial groundfish regulations are available at
the DFG website at www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/groundfishcentral or recreational
anglers can call the Recreational Groundfish Hotline at (831) 649-2801. The
delay mainly affects the recreational groundfish fishery.

The public can still comment on the proposed federal groundfish regulation
changes on or before Jan. 4, 2011. Instructions for submitting public
comments can be found at
http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/Publications/FR-Notices/2010/loader.cfm?csModule=sec
urity/getfile&pageid=48404
(this page may be slow to load). The proposed
recreational changes can be found on pages 67894 through 67896.

California Department of Fish and Game News Release

Contacts:
Deb Wilson-Vandenberg, DFG Marine Region, (831) 649-2892
Jayna Schaaf-Da Silva, Marine Region, (831) 649-7196
Jordan Traverso, DFG Communications, (916) 654-9937

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