Amend Section 180.15 of Title 14, CCR Commercial Coonstripe Shrimp Fishery
Summary
SCH Number
2026020588
Public Agency
California Fish and Game Commission
(CDFGC)
Document Title
Amend Section 180.15 of Title 14, CCR Commercial Coonstripe Shrimp Fishery
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
2/17/2026
Document Description
Coonstripe shrimp (Pandalus danae) supports a commercial trap fishery centered in northern California, from the California/Oregon border to and including Monterey Bay. Coonstripe fishery gear has been implicated in four whale entanglements: one in 2017 near Crescent City, two in 2024 near San Francisco, and one in 2025 near Monterey Bay. With declining opportunities in other fisheries (i.e., salmon, groundfish), there is a growing concern with the potential for more commercial fishermen to turn to coonstripe fishing, increasing gear usage in the fishery and further increasing the risk of marine life entanglement. The potential increase in entanglement risk with the growth of the fishery is especially acute because the fishery operates in areas and at times of the year with relatively high densities of whales, including species federally listed under the Endangered Species Act. Therefore, the California Fish and Game Commission proposes to amend sections 180.15 and 180.5 of Title 14, California Code of Regulations, to address marine life entanglement risk in the coonstripe shrimp fishery.
Contact Information
Name
Melissa Miller-Henson
Agency Name
California Fish and Game Commission
Job Title
Executive Director
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Location
Cities
Agoura Hills, Alhambra, Arcadia, Arcata, Arroyo Grande, Artesia, Atascadero, Atherton, Avalon, Azusa, Baldwin Park, Bell, Bell Gardens, Bellflower, Belmont, Belvedere, Beverly Hills, Blue Lake, Booneville, Bradbury, Brisbane, Buellton, Burbank, Burlingame, Calabasas, Camarillo, Cambria, Capitola, Carlsbad, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Carpinteria, Carson, Cerritos, Chula Vista, Claremont, Cloverdale, Colma, Commerce, Compton, Coronado, Corte Madera, Cotati, Covelo, Covina, Crescent City, Cudahy, Culver City, Daly City, Del Mar, Del Rey Oaks, Diamond Bar, Downey, Duarte, East Palo Alto, El Cajon, El Monte, El Segundo, Encinitas, Escondido, Eureka, Fairfax, Fallbrook, Ferndale, Fillmore, Fort Bragg, Fortuna, Foster City, Gardena, Glendale, Glendora, Goleta, Gonzales, Gorman, Greenfield, Grover Beach, Guadalupe, Half Moon Bay, Hawaiian Gardens, Hawthorne, Healdsburg, Hermosa Beach, Hidden Hills, Hillsborough, Huntington Park, Imperial Beach, Industry, Inglewood, Irwindale, King City, La Cañada Flintridge, La Canada-Flintridge, La Habra Heights, La Jolla, La Mesa, La Mirada, La Puente, La Verne, Lakewood, Lancaster, Larkspur, Lawndale, Lemon Grove, Lomita, Lompoc, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Lynwood, Malibu, Manhattan, Manhattan Beach, Marina, Maywood, Menlo Park, Mill Valley, Millbrae, Monrovia, Montebello, Monterey, Monterey Park, Moorpark, Morro Bay, National City, Nipomo, Norwalk, Novato, Oceanside, Ojai, Oxnard, Pacific Grove, Pacifica, Palmdale, Palos Verdes Estates, Paramount, Pasadena, Paso Robles, Pauma Valley, Petaluma, Pico Rivera, Pismo Beach, Point Arena, Pomona, Port Hueneme, Portola Valley, Poway, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Redwood City, Rio Dell, Rohnert Park, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Rosemead, Ross, Salinas, San Anselmo, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Diego, San Dimas, San Fernando, San Francisco, San Gabriel, San Luis Obispo, San Marcos, San Marino, San Mateo, San Rafael, Sand City, Santa Barbara, Santa Clarita, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe Springs, Santa Maria, Santa Monica, Santa Paula, Santa Rosa, Santee, Sausalito, Scotts Valley, Seaside, Sebastopol, Sierra Madre, Signal Hill, Simi Valley, Solana Beach, Soledad, Solvang, Sonoma, South El Monte, South Gate, South Pasadena, South San Francisco, Temple City, Thousand Oaks, Tiburon, Torrance, Trinidad, Ukiah, Van Nuys, Ventura, Vernon, Vista, Walnut, Watsonville, West Covina, West Hollywood, Westlake Village, Whittier, Willits, Windsor, Woodside
Counties
Del Norte, Humboldt, Los Angeles, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, San Diego, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, Ventura
Regions
Statewide
Other Information
Ocean waters where Coonstripe shrimp are harvested
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Classes 7 and 8; California Code of Regulations, Title 14, sections 15307 and 15308
Reasons for Exemption
The class 7 and class 8 categorical exemptions apply to agency actions to assure the maintenance, restoration, and enhancement of natural resources and the environment, respectively. The Commission approved the emergency regulation by relying on the categorical exemptions described in CEQA Guidelines Section 15307 (Action by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of Natural Resources), the class 7 exemption, and Section 15308 (Action by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of the Environment), the Class 8 exemption.
The purpose of the regulatory action is to reduce marine life entanglement risk in the fishery by incorporating previously enacted emergency regulations that (1) establish a north/south dividing line at the Sonoma and Mendocino counties border, (2) limit the number of vertical lines that may be deployed per vessel, (3) limit the number of traps per string, (4) establish a maximum depth limit of 30 fathoms for the northern fishery only, and (5) set a new control date. In addition to incorporating previous emergency regulations, this regulation also (1) makes changes to the season in the northern fishery; (2) changes the trap set and bait time statewide; (3) allows voluntary use of ropeless fishing gear; (4) adds requirements for electronic monitoring of ropeless fishing gear; (5) limits the length of surface line, limit the size of surface buoys, and specify buoy marking requirements; (6) removes trap destruction device requirements; and (7) requires reporting on fishery activity. This regulatory action is intended to limit the deployment of gear that has the potential to entangle marine life, increase safety for fishery participants, and collect data on the fishery. Therefore, the project is designed to reduce the risk of marine life entanglements caused by coonstripe shrimp trap gear and is exempt under CEQA because the project will ensure the maintenance and enhancement of marine resources and the marine environment.
County Clerks
Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Plumas, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yolo, Yuba
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.