dumb question here from someone who has never yet fished in the ocean.... why is it illegal to fish for lobsters and abalone around the bridge?
Quick google search turned up this:
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/news/news99/99083.html
September 10, 1999
DFG Busts North Coast Abalone Poaching Network
ALAMEDA — A six-month, 4,000-hour surveillance investigation by the Department of Fish and Game's (DFG) enforcement branch into an organized network of North Coast abalone poachers has culminated with more than a dozen arrests Friday from the San Francisco Bay area to Ft. Bragg, DFG has announced.
Those arrested in Friday's Haliotis II Operation along the 120-mile stretch of coastline included a sophisticated, interlinked group of divers, wholesalers, buyers and deliverymen, said Fred Cole, deputy chief of DFG's Enforcement Branch. The suspects were arrested in Alameda, San Francisco, Mendocino and Sonoma counties, Cole said, and several are facing felony conspiracy charges for the unlawful take and commercialization of sport taken abalone. Several vehicles used in the illegal poaching were also confiscated Friday by DFG officials.
"Operations like this one today are needed to help protect what has become a very limited resource," said Cole, who added that approximately 80 personnel from DFG were involved in the operation. "The largest concentration of abalone left in the world is located on California's North Coast, and it is a big priority of ours to save this resource. We are very appreciative of the help we've received during this investigation from the Sonoma County District Attorneys office and Sheriff's Department."
Charges filed by the Sonoma County District Attorneys office ranged from felony conspiracy, to illegal take, sale and purchase of abalone, and the illegal commercialization of abalone from a closed district. Felony conspiracy may be charged whenever a group conspires to violate Fish and Game laws, which are normally misdemeanors.
A suspect convicted of a felony conspiracy charge to sell abalone is subject to a maximum of three years in state prison, and a minimum $20,000 to $40,000 fine.
The information leading to each arrest was originally generated by concerned citizens via DFG's CalTIP program, Cole said. By contacting the 1-888-334-2258 to report poachers and polluters, callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward.
North Coast red abalone can only be taken by sport divers for personal consumption, with a limit of four per day, at a minimum length of seven inches in the shell. The commercial take of abalone, which has always been prohibited in the North Coast, has been closed statewide the past two years because of a severe decline in the abalone population. Additionally, it is unlawful to take abalone by divers using scuba gear. Abalone can only be taken by sport divers collecting from exposed rocks or by free diving without scuba gear.
The abalone sport season runs from April 1 to June 30, and then from Aug. 1 to Nov. 30, only in ocean waters north of the San Francisco Bay.
The suspects were allegedly involved in an intricate network of procuring abalone, selling it to willing individuals, who would then re-sell the abalone to a mostly pre-determined list of buyers. Abalone are in very high demand, and are easily over harvested because of slow growth and variable reproductive success. During this operation, DFG officers working undercover purchased abalone for $60 to $80 each.
"This network is very efficient, and very effective," Cole said. "Some of those arrested are taking about 1,000 abalone a season, valued in the market place at over $1 million, and they are making anywhere from $80,000 to $100,000 each during the season, tax free."
The monies available for this operation was made possible because of a $1.2 million appropriation by the California Legislature for the 1998-99 fiscal year that funded 10 DFG warden positions.