DFG News Archive

California's Recreational Abalone Fishing Season Ends Nov. 30

The recreational abalone fishing season is scheduled to close on Tuesday, Nov. 30, the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) has announced. Abalone permit report cards, also known as abalone “punch cards,” are required to be turned in by the end of the year.

As in past years, DFG requires fishermen to turn in abalone permit report cards by the end of the season. The report cards limit a fisherman's annual catch of abalone, and help scientists manage the fishery by providing important data used to estimate the abalone catch, both for the fishery as a whole and for specific sites along the coast.

Abalone divers 16 years or older are required to purchase an abalone permit report card along with their sport fishing license. Fishermen must immediately fill in the date, time and location of the catch on the card, and punch a hole for each abalone taken. Obtaining the most useful results from the report card data depends on all the cards being returned regardless of the number of abalone actually harvested by each license holder. The 2004 abalone punch cards must be returned to DFG, 19160 South Harbor Drive, Fort Bragg, CA 95437-5798 before Dec. 31.

The 2004 recreational abalone season ran from April through June, and from August through November. The month of July is closed to the sport take of abalone. The daily bag limit for abalone is three, with 24 allowed to be taken per year.

Information about abalone report cards, the Abalone Recovery and Management Plan, and other information is available on the DFG's Web site at www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/abalone.html.