Rules

• 2026–27 season: opens 6:00 p.m. Friday, Oct 2, 2026 and closes 11:59:59 p.m. Wednesday, Mar 17, 2027. (L1, L2, L3)
• Standing rule: the season opens at 6:00 p.m. on the Friday before the first Wednesday in October. It closes at 11:59:59 p.m. on the first Wednesday after March 15. (L1, L10)
• Hoop nets before the opener: no hoop nets may be in the water during the 24 hours before the opener anywhere south of Point Arguello, which includes all of San Diego. For 2026 that was 6:00 p.m. Thu Oct 1 to 5:59 p.m. Fri Oct 2. (L1, L2)

Who needs what

• Age 16 and up: need a California sport fishing license. (L4)

• Ocean Enhancement Validation: also needed south of Point Arguello. You don't need it with a one- or two-day license. (L1, L4)

• Spiny Lobster Report Card: needed by everyone who takes lobster, including:

  • kids under 16
  • people fishing from a public pier
  • anyone helping set nets or handle lobster

  Observers who don't help don't need one. (L1)

• Public piers: no fishing license is needed. The report card, size and bag limits still apply. (L1, L16)

2026 fees

Item	2026 fee	Valid for
Resident annual sport fishing license	$64.54	365 days from purchase
Nonresident annual license	$174.14	365 days from purchase
One-day license (anyone)	$21.09	one day
Two-day license (anyone)	$32.40	two consecutive days
Ten-day nonresident license	$64.54	ten consecutive days
Ocean Enhancement Validation	$7.30	365 days from purchase
Spiny Lobster Report Card	$12.70	the whole season
Non-return fee (card not reported by Apr 30)	$21.60	added to next season's card

Reduced-fee licenses ($10.04–$10.54) exist for qualifying disabled veterans and low-income seniors. (L4)

Buying: online, at CDFW license offices, or at license agents such as tackle shops. (L1, L5)

Using the card (L1, L2, L12)

• Card sales: 2026–27 cards went on sale Aug 15, 2026.
• Extra cards: you can buy another card once every line on yours is full. There's no limit.
• Before you enter the water or set a net: write the month, day, location and gear code on the next open line. Then record the number of lobsters you kept. Use a new line for each location and each gear type.
• Carrying it:
  • You must carry the physical card. The phone app doesn't replace it.
  • On a boat, the card can stay on the boat.
  • Diving from shore, it can stay within 500 yards of where you entered.
• Kids' catch: a parent may carry a child's lobster if it's recorded on both cards and the child is right there (walking along or in the same car).
• Reporting [yearly]:
  • Report every card by Apr 30, 2027, even if you caught nothing.
  • Online reporting opens Mar 18, 2027. Keep the confirmation number.
  • Mailed cards must be postmarked by Apr 30. The mailing address is CDFW, Lobster Report Card, 3883 Ruffin Rd., San Diego, CA 92123.
• Missing the deadline: CDFW can't waive the non-return fee. The only alternative is to sit out a season.
• Lost card: email lobster@wildlife.ca.gov before Apr 30 with your trips (location, gear, number kept).

• Bag and possession limit: 7 lobsters per person, fresh or frozen. You can't take more until those are used or given away. (L1, L10)

• Minimum size: 3¼ in carapace length, measured in a straight line from the rear edge of the eye socket to the rear edge of the body shell. (L1, L2, L6, L7)

• When to measure:

  • Measure immediately.
  • Divers must measure in the water. You may not bring an undersized lobster out of the water.
  • Hoop netters measure as soon as the net comes up.
  • Release undersized lobster right away. Never put one in a bag or keep it on you.

  (L1, L2)

• Gauge: CDFW recommends a fixed 3¼ in gauge over a ruler or tape. (L1)

• Keep them whole: lobster must stay whole and measurable until you prepare them to eat. No tailing at sea or at the launch ramp. (L1)

• Allowed: by hand or with a hoop net. Nothing else. (L1, L2, L11)

• Banned:

  • tickle sticks or any device used to coax lobster out
  • traps (illegal for recreational use since 1963)
  • wired traps, snares and spears

  (L1, L2)

• Divers:

  • Hands only.
  • You may carry spearfishing gear if it's otherwise legal, but you can't use it to take lobster. (L1)
  • Scuba is legal for lobster in San Diego (south of Yankee Point). (L1)

• Hook and line: a lobster caught by accident must go back right away. (L1)

• Net limits:

  • Public pier: up to 2 nets per person.
  • Boat: up to 5 per person, and no more than 10 per boat however many people are aboard.

  (L1, L13)

• Buoys: each net's buoy must show the GO ID of at least one operator. Tape is fine if the number stays legible. (L1)

• New for 2026:

  • It's illegal to disturb, move or damage someone else's hoop net.
  • On a boat, you may use another person's net only if its owner is aboard.
  • Gear-marking rules from other West Coast fisheries can't be used on lobster lines.

  (L2, L11)

• Other gear rules: §29.80 also sets net design and servicing rules. See the regulation before buying gear. (L11)

• Time of day: the CDFW lobster rules reviewed for this file set no time-of-day limit on diving, so night dives are legal. Parking-lot and park hours still apply, so check the spot's note. (L1)
• Scuba and freediving: both are legal for lobster here. (L1)
• Dive flag: not required in California. If you fly one, fly it only while divers are down. Boaters must use caution near it, but it gives divers no special right of way. (L52)
• Spearguns: in City of San Diego beach areas, a loaded or cocked speargun is banned in swimming areas and within 50 ft of swimmers. (L55)
• Cliff jumping: jumping or diving into the ocean or Mission Bay from more than 5 ft above the water is illegal in the City of San Diego. (L55)

What the types mean (L21, L23)

• State Marine Reserve (SMR): no take of anything, living or not. This applies to Matlahuayl, South La Jolla SMR and Cabrillo.
• State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA): no take except what that area's rule lists. No SMCA in San Diego County lists lobster, so lobster is off-limits in all of them: Swami's, San Diego-Scripps, South La Jolla SMCA and Tijuana River Mouth.
• No-take SMCA: like a reserve. This applies to San Elijo Lagoon and Famosa Slough.

Other MPA rules

• Boundaries:
  • Most lines run between published lat/lon points.
  • The landward edge is the mean high tide line.
  • The seaward edge of some is the 3-nautical-mile line.
  • Posted signs and buoys are guides only. The coordinates in 2.2 are the legal line. (L23)
• Swimming and diving (no take) are allowed in MPAs unless a specific rule says otherwise. San Dieguito Lagoon bans diving. (L24, L26)
• Boats with lobster aboard may transit and anchor in MPAs. In a reserve, no fishing gear may be in the water. Hoop nets must be out of the water while you cross. (L22, L23)
• Shore divers carrying lobster through a reserve (for example, exiting at La Jolla Cove after diving outside it): the regulations reviewed don't address this. Avoid it. (L22, L24)
• Before you go: check CDFW's interactive map and emergency closures. (L15, L18)

• Federal Navy areas (33 CFR 334 and 165):

  • Some close the water to swimming and fishing, or to entry entirely.
  • Others ban only anchoring.
  • Most are inside San Diego Bay. See 2.2.

• City of San Diego:

  • No swimming or skin diving within 75 ft of city fishing piers.
  • No swimming or diving in the Mission Bay ocean channel or from its breakwaters.
  • Seasonal wildlife closures at Children's Pool and Point La Jolla.

  (L55, L58)

• Imperial Beach: no swimming or diving within 20 ft of the pier. (L63)

• Sewage and bacteria closures: the County closes beaches often, especially Imperial Beach and the Tijuana River area. Check sdbeachinfo.com or call 619-338-2073 (24 hr). (L64)

• Seafood health advisories: check CDFW. (L17)

• Lobster violations: exceeding the bag limit, keeping undersized lobster, or taking lobster by hook and line can bring up to $1,000 per violation or up to one year in jail. (L2)

• City violations:

  • Breaking the pier rules is a misdemeanor, up to $500 and/or 6 months.
  • Jumping from over 5 ft is a misdemeanor with a minimum $100 fine.

  (L55)

• Report poaching: CalTIP at 1-888-334-2258, or text TIP411 (847411). (L2, L19)

• Questions: lobster@wildlife.ca.gov. (L1)

• Mexico: Mexican waters (south of the border, including the Coronado Islands) fall under Mexican law and need Mexican permits. They're not covered here.
• Also not covered: other species, commercial lobster rules, and hoop-net technique.