Spiny lobster season begins October 3, 2015 to March 16, 2016. The season typically runs from the Saturday preceding the first Wednesday in October all the way to the first Wednesday after March 15 in the spring.
If you are planning on going lobstering, you’ll need to have a spiny lobster report card which is available at any CDFW office, a vendor selling fishing licenses, or online. The report card monitors the recreational lobster fishery. Everyone, even those under the age of 16 and those who are just assisting in fishing for lobster, needs to have one. All persons not required to have a sport fishing license still need to obtain a spiny lobster card (free fishing days included).
Minimum Size Limit for Spiny Lobster
Measuring Spiny Lobsters | Danapointfishcompany.com
The minimum size limit for California spiny lobster is 3 1/4 inches – measured in a straight line on the midline of the back from the rear edge of the eye socket (between the horns) to the rear edge of the body shell. If you are using a lobster gauge, which the CA DFG recommends, the carapace of a legal-sized lobster is larger than or equal to the gauge’s cutout. Any lobster smaller than that should be immediately released back in to the water.
Spiny Lobster Daily Bag Limit
According to CCR T14, Section 29.90(b), the daily recreational bag limit is seven lobsters per person. Additionally, Section 1.17 states that no more than one daily bag limit may be taken or possessed by any one person unless otherwise authorized (see Declaration for Multi-Day Fishing Trip, Section 27.15 T14, CCR), regardless of whether they are fresh, frozen or otherwise preserved. This means that if you have a limit of seven lobsters at home, you cannot go out and get more lobsters until the first limit is disposed of in some way (eaten, given away, etc).
Legal Ways to Catch and Keep Spiny Lobster When Lobstering
Spiny lobsters may only be taken by hand or by hoop net; lobster traps may not be used. Any lobster that is taken incidentally by a fishing pole via hook and line must be immediately returned to the water. Once caught, spiny lobsters must be kept whole, in a measurable condition, until prepared for immediate consumption.
If you catch a lobster with a tag, record the date, location where it was caught, carapace length to the nearest millimeter, and the tag number (remember: date, location, length, tag number). To report a lobster with a blue, yellow, or green tag, visit www.taggedlobster.com of the San Diego Oceans Foundation to enter the information. According to that site, each tag submitted earns a ticket in a monthly raffle.