Posted by on June 22, 2005 at 22:45:39:
The Department of Fish and Game on Sunday will be conducting a checkpoint on the Mendocino County coast somewhere along Highway 20.
The checkpoint is timed to coincide with a series of major low tides when lots of people will be expected to be out abalone diving.
The checkpoints are partly used to educate the public about laws, regulations, and resource conditions, according to the California Department of Fish and Game.
But they are also used to catch people over-harvesting or violating other fish and wildlife laws. During past checkpoints, the most common violations have been failure to complete abalone report cards, possession of abalone out of the shell, possession of undersized abalone, and too many abalone.
Abalone enforcement has been one of the top priorities for Fish and Game for the past several years. Red abalone may not be harvested commercially in California. However, abalone are valuable on the illegal fish market and their illegal take and subsequent unlawful sale is of principal concern to the DFG.
The limit for red abalone is three per day or in possession, with a minimum size of seven inches. A fishing license and abalone permit report card is required.
The seasonal limit remains at 24 per year. There are special restrictions on the type of bars (irons) used to take abalone, and a measuring device is required for each person, states Fish and Gam