Do Surfperch Fry Count Toward the Daily Limit?

April 10, 2014

Question: In Santa Barbara a surf fisherman was seen last week eating baby perch squeezed from a gravid female. How do live fry from perch relate to a daily limit in possession if consumed? Also, if dead fry are expelled from a dying gravid female in an ice chest, do they count toward the daily possession limit of ten? If fish are consumed by surf fisherman while they fish is there a requirement to save the carcass to verify minimum size for species and daily catch limit? The surfperch babies squeezed directly into the upturned mouth is a bit disturbing and prompted me to pose these questions. Thanks. (Hills S., Ventura)

Answer: Disturbing, indeed. The law says the limit is 10 of any one species. Surfperch are livebearers and it is legal for a person to have fish still inside a livebearing species. Technically, fry are not considered individual fish until they are born, so they do not count toward the limit.

However, if the fry are outside the body, then they technically count as a fish. If a female expels fry in a cooler or boat and puts a person over the limit, please return the fry to the water immediately. This will keep you from being over limit and maybe even save a fry or two … or 40.

What a joke.

That's like saying fish eggs count towards yor limit.   

Sincerely,

Jim

"Sorry sir, your fish gave birth in the cooler while you werte paddling in so here's your OTL ticket"

   What if the lingcod spits up a small rocky, would THAT put you over the limit?  I guess it COULD

What a joke.

That's like saying fish eggs count towards yor limit.   

Sincerely,

Jim

Totally agree!

"Sorry sir, your fish gave birth in the cooler while you werte paddling in so here's your OTL ticket"

   What if the lingcod spits up a small rocky, would THAT put you over the limit?  I guess it COULD

I had a warden once tell me to be careful about gutting cabs and keeping the abs that I found in their bellies. I laughed, but honestly it would just depend on the warden I guess...

Here are some Lings that could have resulted in tickets for OTL...

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Tell me you didn't eat the B&Y in that Ling

Tell me you didn't eat the B&Y in that Ling

Ok, I won't tell you that.

 

 

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Didn't think so

Does that mean we can be out of season/over limit/undersized on the contents of cab and ling guts?

That seem ridiculous.

Does that mean we can be out of season/over limit/undersized on the contents of cab and ling guts?

That seem ridiculous.

Exactly.

I've eaten tiny pinto abs from cab bellies down here:

A no take species, from a no take area...

Better call CALTIP.

 

Sincerely,

Jim

How cute .... they even come in their own self-contained serving dish.

"Sorry sir, your fish gave birth in the cooler while you werte paddling in so here's your OTL ticket"

   What if the lingcod spits up a small rocky, would THAT put you over the limit?  I guess it COULD

Can't speak for a ling spitting up a rock cod, but I can for baby perch. Had several spit up babies on me and while I went to change my buddies thought it would be funny to put the babies on my windshield. We'll, when f&w rolled up he counted every. single. one. of those babies towards my limit. He did let me go with a warning and told me next time to squeeze all the babies out under water that they do in fact count towards a limit/10/species.

"Sorry sir, your fish gave birth in the cooler while you werte paddling in so here's your OTL ticket"

   What if the lingcod spits up a small rocky, would THAT put you over the limit?  I guess it COULD

Can't speak for a ling spitting up a rock cod, but I can for baby perch. Had several spit up babies on me and while I went to change my buddies thought it would be funny to put the babies on my windshield. We'll, when f&w rolled up he counted every. single. one. of those babies towards my limit. He did let me go with a warning and told me next time to squeeze all the babies out under water that they do in fact count towards a limit/10/species.

That's insanity.   

Sincerely,

Jim