Recent 120-day emergency regulations on white sturgeon and green sturgeon will be repealed July 19, the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) has announced. The 46- to 56-inch (total length) slot limit on white sturgeon and the zero-bag limit on green sturgeon, both in temporary effect since March 20, 2006, will again be 46 to 72 inches (total length) and the sturgeon daily bag and possession limits will again be one fish.

The temporary slot and bag limits were intended to increase the spawning potential of white sturgeon and green sturgeon in 2006. Preliminary information suggests that sturgeon spawning in 2006 was successful due to the combination of unusually high and persistent river flows in the Sacramento-San Joaquin river system, the temporary limits on sturgeon harvest, and voluntary catch-and-release of legal-sized sturgeon by conservation-minded anglers.

White sturgeon are the object of a popular year-round sport fishery conducted primarily in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River System and San Francisco Estuary. They are often targeted for illegal harvest and commercial trade for their roe, which are processed into caviar, and flesh. The green sturgeon is a threatened species under the Federal Endangered Species Act. As with sturgeon world-wide, populations of both species are particularly sensitive to habitat loss, habitat degradation, and overharvest. Protection of the white sturgeon fishery and conservation of both species warrant on-going and additional habitat protection and law enforcement, as well as sufficiently-protective sport fishing regulations.

In public meetings this fall the California Fish and Game Commission will consider proposals for sport fishing regulations submitted by the public and DFG for implementation in 2007. DFG will evaluate proposals to the Commission for regulations on sport fishing for sturgeon by considering the biology and status of sturgeon, the sturgeon fishery, and public opinion compiled by DFG on the merits and feasibility of potential regulations.