In support of the California Department of Fish and Game and its effort to keep hunters and anglers informed, Pete Thomas Outdoors, on Thursday or Friday, posts marine biologist Carrie Wilson's weekly California Outdoors Q&A column:
Question: Instead of taking life by the act of fishing or eating sea creatures, I want to save the lives of those creatures from seafood markets that are about to be killed for food by buying them and releasing them back to the ocean. Please let me know what kind of live sea creatures (crabs, oyster, shrimp, fish, etc.) are allowed to be legally released back to the ocean. I don’t want to do anything illegal, so please let me know of any restrictions I may need to know. (Justin)
Answer: Unfortunately, it is illegal to release any ocean finfish or shellfish from captivity back into ocean waters (Fish and Game Code, section 6400). Animals living in a fish tank or captive environment may have been exposed to foreign diseases and/or parasites and now carry them. To protect the natural ocean environments and prevent captive finfish and invertebrates from introducing these foreign diseases and/or parasites to healthy wild stocks, it is illegal to move or reintroduce them to the wild.
Q: I have a buddy who lives near Lake Arrowhead. They have a bear that has been vandalizing their property (like getting into trash cans), threatening animals and making them on edge at night or during the day. Would it be legal to shoot this nuisance animal? (Joey Cox, Tulare)
Tell your buddy to contact DFG in Southern California at (909) 484-0167 to report the damage being caused by the bear and to obtain information about the requirements for acquiring a depredation permit.
Q: I just bought the new California computerized hunting license. Since it is issued by the state, Big 5 sold me the federal waterfowl stamp separately. The federal stamp is not printed on the license. Where do I stick it on the license since there is no place designated like the past licenses? Also, if a person buys the initial license with no stamps, then decides to duck hunt later, how do they add the printed stamp info? Do you have to pay for a new license over again? (Anonymous)
A: The law does not require the federal waterfowl stamp to be attached to the new license. You just need to have it in your possession while hunting (along with your license) so you can present it to a game warden upon request. You may want to just staple it to your hunting license to keep them together. The federal stamp must still be signed no matter where it is kept. If a person buys a license and later wants to get validations for bird hunting, they will be given an additional printout of the validations and must carry that along with the original license.
Q: Is it legal to hunt and take big game in California with an airgun of any caliber? I am aware that small game (rabbits, squirrels, etc) may be taken with any caliber airgun and turkeys may be taken with a .20 caliber or larger airgun. I read this question recently on a very widely viewed airgun forum. (Mike Clark)
A: Air rifles are unlawful for this purpose. Check California Code of Regulations Title 14, section 353 for the specific methods allowed for the taking of big game.
Q: How fast do abalone grow? (Anonymous)
A: Abalone are relatively slow growing. Tagging studies indicate northern California red abalone take about 12 years to reach seven inches, but growth rates are highly variable. Abalone grow nearly one inch per year for the first few years, and much slower after that. It takes about five years for red abalone to grow from seven inches to eight inches. At eight inches, growth rates are so slow it takes about 13 years to grow another inch. Slow growth makes abalone populations vulnerable to overfishing since many years are needed to replace each abalone taken.
If you have a question you would like to see answered in this column, e-mail it to [email protected].
Starfish image courtesy of California Department of Fish and Game
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