Spearfishing for White Seabass

September 29, 2016

Question: It’s been an ongoing debate among our small spearfishing group and it’s time to ask the authorities. When spearfishing from a boat, if a diver reaches his maximum limit of three white seabass (WSB) for the day and then gifts one of his fish to somebody who does not have a fish, can the person who caught the fish hunt for one more WSB since he now only has two in his possession? (Chester L.)

Answer: No, each spear fisherman (or angler) is allowed to catch and keep up to three white seabass per day, period. If a fisherman chooses to give one away, that’s fine, but they cannot then continue to try to catch another to refill their personal bag limit for the day. That spear fisherman would have to wait until the next day, and if they still had their two WSB in possession, they would only be able to catch one more the next day because three WSB is both the daily bag limit and the possession limit.

There are a couple of exceptions here, though. Anglers/divers who will be out to sea for multiple days can get a multi-day fishing permit that will allow them to keep up to three limits of WSB over three days if they have secured this permit prior to their trip and followed all of the associated regulations under California Code of Regulations Title 14, section 27.15. There is also a one-fish limit between March 15 and June 15 for the take of white seabass south of Point Conception.