Tag Archives: scuba

Night Diving for Scallops?

Posted on May 31, 2012 | Leave a comment

Scallops (photo by DFG Marine Biologist Derek Stein)

Question:Is it legal to dive for scallops at night? I have found in the regulations where it says that clams may not be taken at night but I cannot find regulations that apply to scallops. Can you help? (George B., Newport Beach)

Answer: Yes, you may dive for scallops at night. The restriction on digging for clams at night does not apply in this situation. The regulations you are looking for are covered under the General Invertebrate provisions in the California Code of Regulations, Title 14, section 29.05, which states in part, “Except as otherwise provided in this article there are no closed hours for any invertebrate.”

Declarations
Question: I am a license agent and last year just two days before the waterfowl season opened, a longtime customer of 25 years came into my store to purchase his license. He had experienced a fire in his home the previous summer and had lost some possessions, including his hunting license evidence. I explained that DFG doesn’t accept declarations any more, and I couldn’t sell him a license. I know he had taken the hunter safety course in the past, and hunted since he was a teenager. What would have been the best course of action for the hunter and a license agent in this situation? What can other longtime experienced hunters do if they find themselves in a similar unfortunate situation? When will DFG accept declarations again? (Kevin Jeffs, Jeffs Sporting Goods, San Gabriel)

Answer: It is unlikely that declarations will be accepted again. However, according to DFG Sport Fishing/Waterfowl/Upland Game Program Analyst Glenn Underwood, there may be something we can do for hunters in this situation. If he applied for waterfowl or big game drawings in the past, we may have his information in our drawing database. The hunter should contact DFG’s License and Revenue Branch at (916) 928-5805 and explain what happened. If they can find proof that he had a hunting license in the past, they can update his hunter education status in the database and he will be able to again purchase a hunting license.

Full-size Cheetah / Leopard taxidermy
Question: My uncle recently passed away and left me in charge of his estate. One of the items he left is a full size Cheetah/ Leopard taxidermy. Is it legal for me to sell it? If not what do you recommend that I do with it? (Michael C., Modesto)

Answer: You are allowed to give it away but you are not allowed to sell or trade it (California Penal Code, section 653o). You might want to contact a museum, service club or local school to see if they may have a use for it.

Using live minnows from a bait shop?
Question: When fishing in a reservoir, can I use live minnows purchased from a bait shop? (Roger L.)

Answer: While moving live fish and/or placing live fish into a different body of water from where they originated is usually illegal in California (CCR, Title 14, section 1.63 and FGC section 6400), there is an exception. Depending upon which district you are fishing, certain species are allowed to be purchased and used as bait, while other species may only be allowed as bait if captured on the specific water you are fishing. Live bait regulations are found starting with Title 14 Section 4.00 of the California Code of Regulations. You should review sections 4.10-4.30 for specific information regarding the species that may be used in your district.

Fishing multiple rods from shore outside San Francisco Bay?
Question: I know that you can use as many rods and hooks as you want outside the Golden Gate, but can I use multiple rods to catch striped bass and halibut from the shore? I already know that only one rod can be used for salmon, rockfish and lingcod. I have heard if you have a striped bass or a halibut in possession, then only one rod can be used. Is this true? (Eddie H.)

Answer: Outside of the Golden Gate, if you are fishing from shore for halibut and striped bass, you can use as many rods and hooks as you want. If you were to catch a species like salmon or rockfish, however, you would have to release it, as only one line may be used for these species.

# # #

Carrie Wilson is a marine biologist with the California Department of Fish and Game. While she cannot personally answer everyone’s questions, she will select a few to answer each week. Please contact her at CalOutdoors@dfg.ca.gov.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Bait, Hunting, Invertebrates, Licensing/Permits/Stamps/Report Cards, Tackle, Taxidermy, Uncategorized

Tagged , , , , , ,

Can Ducks See Color?

Posted on March 8, 2012 | Leave a comment

Because waterfowl have a high number of cones — which dictate color vision in humans — they have color vision where colors are more vivid than what humans have the ability to see (Wood duck photo courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

Question: Can ducks see color? I know deer see different shades of gray, but what about ducks and geese? (David V.)

Answer: Well, this actually is a fairly entertaining question since waterfowl are much different than many other animals — especially us!

According to Department of Fish and Game (DFG) waterfowl biologist Shaun Oldenburger, waterfowl can control the curvature of both the lens and cornea (mammals, including humans, only control the lens). This is basically how birds can see extremely well while flying and while in the act of diving/feeding. In addition, their eyes act independently and they use one at a time to allow for depth-perception since nearly all waterfowl have monocular, not binocular, vision (they can’t stare forward at objects).

Another unique thing about waterfowl is they can see in almost all directions. A few ducks are the exception to the rule, but usually the eye placement allows them to view in many different directions at the same time. Secondly, waterfowl have a very high number of cones (which dictates color vision in humans) which allows them to see sharp images and have color vision where colors are more vivid than humans’ ability. The breadth of color vision is much wider than our own since UV light can be observed by waterfowl (UV light is absorbed by lenses in humans). This allows waterfowl to fly at night or feed in the dark or at low light conditions.

Are pier anglers considered shore-based anglers?
Question: I know that rockfish, lingcod and all groundfish are open year round to shore-based anglers. Does that include pier anglers? Seems to me that piers are shore-based, but thought I’d best check to be sure since I don’t see it spelled out in the regs. (David B.)

Answer: Yes, pier anglers are considered shore-based anglers.

Hunting deer after dropping their antlers?
Question: I have a question about a deer being legal to take after it drops its antlers. I hunt during the late archery deer season and was hunting one buck for about a month. By the end of the A-22 archery season, the buck had dropped both antlers. The regs read as follows:

§351. Forked-Horn Buck, Antlerless and Either-Sex Deer Defined.

  • (a) Forked-Horn Buck Defined. For the purpose of these regulations a forked-horn buck is defined as a male deer having a branched antler on either side with the branch in the upper two-thirds of the antler. Eyeguards or other bony projections on the lower one-third of the antler shall not be considered as points or branches.
  • (b) Antlerless Deer Defined. For the purpose of these regulations, antlerless deer are defined as female deer, fawns of either sex other than spotted fawns, and male deer with an unbranched antler on one or both sides which is not more than three inches in length.
  • (c) Either-Sex Deer Defined. For the purpose of these regulations, either-sex deer are defined as antlerless deer as described in section 351 (b), or legal bucks that have two or more points in the upper two-thirds of either antler. Spike bucks may not be taken.

The way I read the regs, it would be illegal to shoot a buck after it dropped its antlers. Can you clarify this for me please? (Jim P.)

Answer: Yes, you are correct. That deer got lucky this year!

Lifetime licenses?
Question: Why did California stop sending lifetime licenses out? At the time of purchase there were no restrictions implying I had to remain a resident of California and I had no intentions of moving. Circumstances changed though and now I live out of state. Does this negate the lifetime license privileges that I’ve already paid for? (Aron H., Homer, Alaska)

Answer:  No, your lifetime license status has not changed because you moved out of state. According to DFG Sport Fishing/Waterfowl/Upland Game Program Analyst Glenn Underwood, a change in lifetime license issuance procedures was made when we launched the Automated License Data System in 2010.  Lifetime license customers must now verify that their personal information is correct and request their license annually.

There are three ways to claim your license:

1. Pick up your license at any license agent. A list of license agents is available at www.ca.wildlifelicense.com/internetsales/OutletSearch/FindOutlet.

2. Order it online at www.dfg.ca.gov/licensing. Log in and complete your transaction as though you are making a purchase. There will be no charge for your lifetime license.

3. Call (800) 565-1458 and your license will be mailed to you.

# # #

Carrie Wilson is a marine biologist with the California Department of Fish and Game. While she cannot personally answer everyone’s questions, she will select a few to answer each week. Please contact her at CalOutdoors@dfg.ca.gov.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Fishing, Info, Licensing/Permits/Stamps/Report Cards, Waterfowl, Wildlife Life/History

Tagged , , , , ,

Can I Use a Camera on my Bow to Film my Hunts?

Posted on April 28, 2011 | Leave a comment

Archery pro, Keli Van Cleave (Photo by Bill Konway)

Question: I have heard it is illegal in California to use a camera (such as the Roscoby Riser camera) that mounts onto your bow to film your hunts. Is this true? If so, why? (Shane S.)

Answer: Mounting a camera (with no spotlight) onto your bow is legal. It would only be a problem if it was an electronic device with lights to assist in the taking of game (California Fish and Game Code, section 2005).

Abalone and SCUBA diving on the same trip?
Question: We want to go abalone diving and SCUBA diving on the same day. I know we have to free dive for abalone, but we also want to SCUBA dive on the same trip. We live away from the coast but can only do a one-day trip, so which one should we do first? How can we do this without getting in trouble with a game warden who might think that we used the SCUBA for the abalone? (Matthew P.)

Answer: If you’re planning to be out on a boat, just make sure that you don’t have any SCUBA gear present on the boat while diving off of it. If you’re entering and exiting from the shore, be sure to leave your SCUBA gear in your car or in your camp. You could probably do your dives in either order but just be sure that it’s obvious your dives were done separately and that SCUBA assistance was not part of your abalone dive. The law prohibits having SCUBA gear on a boat or floating device when diving for abalone or when abalone are onboard. The law does not prohibit driving home from your dive site with both abalone and SCUBA gear in the same car.

Why can’t fishing licenses extend for 12 months from purchase?
Question: Has the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) ever considered a 12 month fishing license – good for 12 months from the date purchased? If not, is there a reason? Also, has the number of resident fishing licenses grown, stayed the same or declined in the past five years here in California? (Paul R.,San Diego)

Answer:  Sport fishing license sales fluctuate, but generally, have been declining gradually for many years. The DFG maintains a website of license sales statistics at: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/licensing/statistics/statistics.html.

According to DFG Sport Fishing Program Analyst Glenn Underwood, we occasionally receive suggestions to change the sport fishing license structure to make licenses valid for one year from the date of purchase. Generally, they come from anglers who do not fish until the summer or fall each year and do not wish to purchase a sport fishing license for the remainder of the year. Making fishing licenses valid for one year from the date of purchase would not reduce the number of licenses an angler has to purchase. If an angler doesn’t fish until July each year, the angler would have to purchase a new license each July, it would expire in June of the following year and the angler would still have to purchase a new license each year in July. There is no real advantage to the angler.

Several factors would have to be dealt with before sales of fishing licenses valid for one year from the purchase date could be implemented. For example, license years and expiration dates for fishing licenses and stamps are set in the Fish and Game Code and would have to be changed.

Several of DFG’s licenses are issued in the form of report cards. Report cards grant the licensee the privilege to pursue a particular species, and help DFG gather valuable data regarding the time spent pursuing the species and the number and location of the species harvested. If DFG switched to a license that’s valid for one year from the date of purchase, report card data would not be from the same time period. Therefore, it would not be very useful.

All of the states bordering California issue licenses that are valid for the calendar year, except Nevada which employs a license year of March 1 through Feb. 28. None offer licenses that are valid for one year from the date of purchase.

DFG offers several short-term fishing licenses for anglers not wishing to purchase an annual Sport Fishing License. Anglers who choose to fish only occasionally may want to purchase a Two-Day Sport Fishing License for $21.86 or a One-Day Sport Fishing License for $14.04.

DFG also provides two Free Fishing Days each year when anglers do not need licenses or stamps to fish, but appropriate report cards are required (e.g. sturgeon, steelhead, abalone, etc) and all other regulations such as size and bag limits must be followed. For 2011, Free Fishing Days will be held on July 2 and Sept. 3. In addition, a fishing license is not required while fishing from a public pier in ocean or bay waters.

# # #

Carrie Wilson is a marine biologist with the California Department of Fish and Game. While she cannot personally answer everyone’s questions, she will select a few to answer each week. Please contact her at CalOutdoors@dfg.ca.gov.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Abalone, Archery, Diving, Fishing, Licensing/Permits/Stamps/Report Cards, Regulations

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,