Commercial Fishery Line Marking Prohibition
Summary
SCH Number
2025110632
Public Agency
Fish and Wildlife (Headquarters), Wildlife and Fisheries Division – Sacramento
Document Title
Commercial Fishery Line Marking Prohibition
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
11/17/2025
Document Description
The proposed project would add Section 181, Title 14, California Code of Regulations (CCR), to prohibit all state-managed commercial fisheries from using line marking patterns already assigned to another fishery on the U.S. West Coast.
Contact Information
Name
Anthony Shiao
Agency Name
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Job Title
Environmental Scientist
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Location
Cities
N/A ; Applicable to State ocean waters
Regions
Statewide
Other Location Info
State Ocean Waters
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Class 7; CCR, Title 14, section 15307 & Class 8; CCR, Title 14, section 15308
Reasons for Exemption
In compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA; Public Resources Code Section 21000 et seq.), the Department adopted the regulation by relying on the categorical exemptions contained in CEQA Guidelines Sections 15307 (Action by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of Natural Resources) and 15308 (Action by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of the Environment). The exemptions apply to agency actions to protect natural resources and the environment.
The proposed project would prohibit every state-managed commercial fishery from using any line with a pattern that has been assigned to another state fishery operating off the U.S. West Coast. This would prevent misidentification of the source of any entanglement that involved protected natural resources such as humpback whale, blue whale, or Pacific leatherback turtle. Accurate identification of an entanglement source would in turn allow the Department to work with stakeholders and partners to better develop strategies to reduce and mitigate future entanglements. As such the proposal is an activity that is the proper subject of CEQA’s Class 7 and Class 8 categorical exemptions
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
Disclaimer: The Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (LCI) accepts no responsibility for the content or accessibility of these documents. To obtain an attachment in a different format, please contact the lead agency at the contact information listed above. For more information, please visit LCI’s Accessibility Site.