Crabbing on Albion dock: License needed?

So...I lucked out and my wife wanted to go camping this weekend cuz the plans to go swelter in Bakersfield at her parents house fell through.

Next thing I know we have reservations at Schooners in Albion for us, another family and her sister/brother in law!

 

Now...I plan on diving as much as I can (surprise, surprise) but figure I can leave the kids (3 girls and two boys, one of whom has cerebral palsy) with the adults on the pier to mess around with crab hoops while I am out chasing fish and popping snails.

I know the kiddos don't need licenses cuz they are all under 16, but I am also thinking the adults with them wouldn't either cuz they are on a dock/pier?

License Provisions
Any person who is 16 years of age or older must have a sport fishing license to take any
kind of fish, mollusk, invertebrate, amphibian or crustacean in California, except for persons
angling from a public pier in ocean or bay waters.

I imagine a warden could interpret that rule a bunch of different ways so will tell the adults to just make sure the kids are dropping and pulling the pots...

What do you guys think?

Would suck to come back from diving and have the wife and her sister and friends all pissed and bitter cuz they got tickets!!

 

 

Sincerely,

Jim

I heard someone saying awhile back that is wasn't legal to crab from the dock at all because it was up river. I'd look it up.

Chad, I believe the traps got Rich (Montana) a ticket a couple of years ago.

Montana can confirm this, but I was with him the last two years and he didn't get one.  My understanding is that you do need a license, but I'm not sure. I don't think that qualifies as a public pier in the ocean or bay.  I would call that a river.  Who knows?

"License Provisions
Any person who is 16 years of age or older must have a sport fishing license to take any
kind of fish, mollusk, invertebrate, amphibian or crustacean in California, except for persons
angling from a public pier in ocean or bay waters. A sport fishing license is required to
take reptiles, except for rattlesnakes."

Yeah, I bet you're right Gabe...

I'll just tell the adults if they don't wanna get a license then they really need to make sure the kids are doing the setting and pulling and not them.

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Jim,

I was crabbing the docs last year with my mom and wife, the warden showed up, checked me as I was the one pulling the net, they were just hanging out. He chatted with my mom a while then moved on. No tickets. Super nice guy.

As to weather or not its legal to crab from the doc I dont know?

A few weeks back I was there, and albion management encouraged it, and said the crabbing was good, which it was. No warden showed up this time...

That river qualifies as inland waters.  Here are the relevant sections of the regs book.  It looks like it's legal unless its a low flow time. 


"1.53. INLAND WATERS. Inland waters are all the fresh, brackish and inland saline waters
of the state, including lagoons and tidewaters upstream from the mouths of coastal rivers and
streams. Inland waters exclude the waters of San Francisco and San Pablo bays downstream
from the Carquinez Bridge, the tidal portions of rivers and streams flowing into San Francisco and
San Pablo bays, and the waters of Elkhorn Slough, west of Elkhorn Road between Castroville
and Watsonville. Also see Section 27.00."

"In inland waters including coastal rivers, saltwater
crab, clams, ghost shrimp, and blue mud shrimp may
only be taken by hand or using hoop nets. Dungeness
crab may only be taken in inland waters in Del Norte,
Humboldt, Mendocino, and Sonoma counties. Fishing
is closed for saltwater invertebrates during low-flow
river and stream closures (for closures call (707) 822-
3164 in Del Norte and Humboldt counties, or (707)
944-5533 in Mendocino and Sonoma counties). See
sections 7.50(a)(2) and 8.00 in the Freshwater Sport
 Fishing regulations booklet for more information."

Maybe not Rich, but I do remember talk about somebody getting a ticket.

Sounds like your fine if you use a hoop net. Go get em!