The California Department of Fish and Wildlife will close both the commercial and recreational fishery for California scorpionfish on Nov. 15, and it will remain closed statewide through the end of the year.
The CDFW predicts that the California scorpionfish’s annual catch limit for 2014 will be exceeded unless the fishery is closed.
Fishing for rockfish and other groundfish will remain open in Southern California through the end of the year, but people are being asked to avoid fishing where California scorpionfish are known to live. The California scorpionfish is found primarily near the shores of Southern California.
This article appears in Nov 13-20, 2014.