California Fish and Game Code CHAPTER 1 - General Definitions

• Section 1.
  This code shall be known as the Fish and Game Code.(Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)
• Section 2.
  Unless the provisions or the context otherwise requires, the definitions in this chapter govern the construction of this code and all regulations adopted under this...
• Section 3.
  The provisions of this code, insofar as they are substantially the same as existing statutory provisions relating to the same subject matter, shall be construed...
• Section 4.
  Division, part, chapter, article, and section headings do not in any manner affect the scope, meaning, or intent of the provisions of this code.(Enacted by...
• Section 5.
  Whenever reference is made to any portion of this code or of any other law of this State, the reference applies to all amendments and...
• Section 6.
  Whenever a power is granted to, or duty is imposed upon, a public officer, the power may be exercised or the duty may be performed...
• Section 7.
  Whenever a statement or report is required to be made, it shall be made in the English language. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the...
• Section 8.
  The present tense includes the past and future tenses, and the future, the present.(Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)
• Section 9.
  The masculine gender includes the feminine and the neuter.(Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)
• Section 9.2.
  “Spouse” includes “registered domestic partner,” as required by Section 297.5 of the Family Code.(Added by Stats. 2016, Ch. 50, Sec. 41. (SB 1005) Effective January...
• Section 10.
  The singular number includes the plural, and the plural, the singular.(Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)
• Section 11.
  Whenever in this code the doing of an act between certain dates or from one date to another is allowed or prohibited, the period of...
• Section 12.
  Wherever the term “Fish Commission Fund” or “Game Preservation Fund” appears in any law, it means “Fish and Game Preservation Fund.”(Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch.
• Section 13.
  Unless otherwise specified by statute, any notice or other written communication required to be sent to any person by this code or regulations adopted pursuant...
• Section 13.5.
  “Adaptive management,” unless otherwise specified in this code, means management that improves the management of biological resources over time by using new information gathered through...
• Section 14.
  “Anadromous fish” means fish which spawn in fresh water and spend a portion of their lives in the ocean.(Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1486, Sec.
• Section 15.
  “Angling” means the taking of, or attempting to take, fish by hook and line with the line held in the hand, or by hook and...
• Section 16.
  “Affix” means physically attached to or imprinting an electronic validation to a license document.(Added by Stats. 2001, Ch. 112, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2002.)
• Section 17.
  “Aquaculture” means that form of agriculture devoted to the propagation, cultivation, maintenance, and harvesting of aquatic plants and animals in marine, brackish, and fresh water....
• Section 18.
  “Bag limit” means the maximum limit, in number or amount, of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, or amphibians that may lawfully be taken by any one...
• Section 19.
  “Possession limit” means the maximum, in number or amount, of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, or amphibians that may be lawfully possessed by one person.(Added by...
• Section 22.
  “Bird” means a wild bird or part of a wild bird.(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 154, Sec. 2. (AB 1527) Effective January 1, 2016.)
• Section 24.
  “Buy” includes an offer to buy, purchase, barter, exchange, or trade.(Amended by Stats. 1985, Ch. 1403, Sec. 1.)
• Section 27.
  “Chumming” means the placing in the water of fish, or other material upon which fish feed, for the purpose of attracting fish to a particular...
• Section 29.
  “Closed season” means that period of time during which the taking of birds, mammals, fish, amphibians, or reptiles is prohibited.(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 154,...
• Section 30.
  “Commission” means the Fish and Game Commission, and “commissioner” means a member of the Fish and Game Commission.(Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)
• Section 32.
  “County” includes city and county.(Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)
• Section 33.
  “Credible science” means the best available scientific information that is not overly prescriptive due to the dynamic nature of science, and includes the evaluation principles...
• Section 35.
  “Day” means calendar day, and “week” means calendar week.(Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)
• Section 37.
  “Department” means the Department of Fish and Wildlife.(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 559, Sec. 5. (AB 2402) Effective January 1, 2013.)
• Section 39.
  “Director” means the Director of Fish and Wildlife.(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 559, Sec. 6. (AB 2402) Effective January 1, 2013.)
• Section 41.
  “District” means fish and game district.(Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)
• Section 43.
  “Ecosystem-based management” means an environmental management approach relying on credible science, as defined in Section 33, that recognizes the full array of interactions within an...
• Section 45.
  “Fish” means a wild fish, mollusk, crustacean, invertebrate, amphibian, or part, spawn, or ovum of any of those animals.(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 154, Sec....
• Section 46.
  “Guide boat” means a boat or vessel under 25 feet in length, which is used by a guide, who is licensed under Chapter 5 (commencing...
• Section 48.
  “Hook” or “fishhook” means an implement to catch or hold fish or amphibia. “Single hook” means any hook with one point and with or without...
• Section 51.
  “Kelp” means kelp or other marine aquatic plants and the seeds thereof.(Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)
• Section 54.
  “Mammal” means a wild or feral mammal or part of a wild or feral animal, but not a wild, feral, or undomesticated burro.(Amended by Stats....
• Section 54.5.
  “Marine finfish aquaculture” means the propagation, cultivation, or maintenance of finfish species in the waters of the Pacific Ocean that are regulated by this state.(Added...
• Section 55.
  “Mile” means either a statute mile (5,280 feet) or a nautical mile (6,077 feet) depending on the application. Statute miles shall be the unit of...
• Section 56.
  “Net” means any gear made of any kind of twine, thread, string, rope, wire, wood, or other materials used for the gilling, entangling, trapping, or...
• Section 57.
  “Nonresident” means a person who is not a resident as defined in Section 70.(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 154, Sec. 7. (AB 1527) Effective January...
• Section 60.
  “Oath” includes affirmation.(Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)
• Section 61.
  “Ocean ranching” means aquaculture where juvenile anadromous fish are reared and released into state waters to grow and return to an aquaculture facility to be...
• Section 62.
  “Open season” means that period of time during which the taking of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, or amphibians is allowed as prescribed in this code...
• Section 64.
  “Order,” “rule,” and “regulation” are used interchangeably and each includes the others.(Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)
• Section 67.
  “Person” means any natural person or any partnership, corporation, limited liability company, trust, or other type of association.(Amended by Stats. 1994, Ch. 1010, Sec. 121....
• Section 68.
  “Purchase” means “buy” as defined in Section 24.(Added by Stats. 1985, Ch. 1403, Sec. 2.)
• Section 70.
  “Resident” means any person who has resided continuously in the State of California for six months or more immediately prior to the date of his...
• Section 73.
  “Section” means a section of this code unless some other statute is specifically mentioned. “Subdivision” means a subdivision of the section in which that term...
• Section 75.
  “Sell” includes offer or possess for sale, barter, exchange, or trade.(Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)
• Section 79.
  “Shall” is mandatory and “may” is permissive.(Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)
• Section 80.
  Unless the provision or context otherwise requires, a provision of this code that applies to a whole animal also applies to a part of the...
• Section 81.
  “Signature” or “subscription” includes mark when the signer or subscriber cannot write, such signer’s or subscriber’s name being written near the mark by a witness...
• Section 82.
  “Slurp gun” means a self-contained, hand-held device used to capture fish by rapidly drawing water containing fish into a closed chamber.(Added by Stats. 1992, Ch....
• Section 83.
  “State” means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. In the latter case, it includes the District of...
• Section 86.
  “Take” means hunt, pursue, catch, capture, or kill, or attempt to hunt, pursue, catch, capture, or kill.(Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)
• Section 88.
  “Transport” includes offer or receive for transportation.(Enacted by Stats. 1957, Ch. 456.)
• Section 89.
  For the purposes of this code, “recycled water” or “reclaimed water” has the same meaning as recycled water as defined in subdivision (n) of Section...
• Section 89.1.
  “Waters of the state,” “waters of this state,” and “state waters” have the same meaning as “waters of the state” as defined in subdivision (e)...
• Section 89.5.
  “Wildlife” means and includes all wild animals, birds, plants, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and related ecological communities, including the habitat upon which the wildlife depends for...

Last modified: October 22, 2018