SACRAMENTO — On Sept. 17, 2001, the California Fish and Game
Commission held an emergency teleconference call and took action to
close the commercial cabezon fishery through Dec. 31, 2001.
The
emergency action is necessary to prevent the total cabezon harvest
limit from being exceeded in 2001.
The emergency regulation has been reviewed and approved by the Office of Administrative Law and filed with the Secretary of State. Enforcement of the closure will begin with the new fishing week starting at 12:01 a.m. Sept. 24, 2001.
On Dec. 8, 2000, the Commission adopted interim fisheries management
measures for cabezon and associated nearshore finfish designed to keep
commercial and recreational harvests within specified catch limits to
promote sustainable use of the resource.
The Department of Fish and
Game, in its request to the Commission, indicated that unless the
commercial cabezon fishery is closed for the rest of the year, the
total projected harvest of cabezon for the year will exceed the total
cabezon optimum yield of 178,728 pounds established last December by
the Commission.