DFG News Archive

DFG Defines San Francisco Bay Fishing Closure Zones

Following Gov. Schwarzenegger's Executive Order (S-14-07) yesterday, the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) today defined fishing closure boundaries following last week's oil spill.

The order suspended all fishing, including the start of crab season, in the areas impacted by the oil spill. Closures at these locations will be in effect immediately and will prohibit commercial and recreational fishing and the operation of live wells or holding tanks that draw water from outside the vessel. Commercial bait operations using holding pens or nets in the affected waters are also prohibited.

The closures will affect all San Francisco Bay waters west of the Carquinez Bridge, excluding rivers, streams, creeks and their tributaries. The south end of the boundary closure begins at San Pedro Point in San Mateo County (N37.6, W122.5) and proceeds due west three nautical miles, extending north to three miles west of the Point Reyes Lighthouse in Marin County (N38.0, W123.0). A map of the closure area can be found at www.dfg.ca.gov/news/fisheries-closure.pdf.

The suspension is for all fishing in the areas affected by the oil spill until Dec. 1, 2007 or when DFG and state health officials determine the fishing season can be opened.

A special information hotline for the public and commercial interests has been set up at (916) 654-5446.

On Nov. 9, Gov. Schwarzenegger proclaimed a State of Emergency in the city/county of San Francisco, as well as Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Mateo, Solano, and Sonoma counties in response to the disaster to help expedite the cleanup effort.

The Executive Order signed Tuesday by the Governor tasked DFG and its Office of Spill Response (OSPR) with determining “the geographic area impacted by the oil spill that poses a potential risk to human health that may come from the human consumption of marine life as a result of the oil spill.”

Major fisheries impacted by the closure include the Central Dungeness crab season, which opened for sport take on Nov. 3. The commercial central California Dungeness crab fishery is scheduled to open commercially Nov. 15. Some other fisheries in the affected waters include:

Commercial Fish - California halibut, herring, bay shrimp, white croaker, groundfish (except cabezon and greenling), surfperch, Pacific sardines, northern anchovy; Sport Fish - California halibut, surfperch, striped bass, sturgeon, leopard shark, sanddabs, other flatfish (starry flounder, sand sole), monkeyface prickleback, anchovies, jacksmelt and topsmelt, white croaker, rock crab, ghost shrimp, abalone, mussels, and clams.

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