If you’re a California diver who brought home some lobster in the past year, now’s the time to report your catch.
The lobster report cards are a vital resource for the management of the California Lobster Fishery. It’s important to report your catch (or non-catch, if that’s the case) so the California Department of Fish and Wildlife each year. The DFG is mandated by state law to manage the lobster resource, as well as other fish and game, and so biologists must gather as much information as possible from both the commercial and recreational lobster fisheries. The lobster report card system for recreational divers and pickers began in 2008.
Spiny lobster report cards are due by April 30, 2021. You can report online here:
https://wildlife.ca.gov/Licensing/Fishing#44521416-harvest-reporting
Report cardholders who fail to return their Full Season Spiny Lobster Report Card or report their harvest online by April 30, following the close of lobster season, will be assessed a $21.60 non-return fee when they purchase a spiny lobster report card for the following season.
In the 2019-2020 season, 34,804 report cards were sold, and 17,563 were reported at the end of the season – about 50%. During that time, 106,742 lobster were reported caught in 77,940 trips, for an average of 8.1 lobster per card.