SACRAMENTO — In a year marked by passionate debate and growing concern over the future of a beloved fishery, the California Fish and Game Commission has finalized new regulations for barred sand bass that strike a compromise between conservation and access. Following a public hearing on April 17, 2025, the Commission voted to adopt the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) recommendation: a four-fish sub-bag limit for barred sand bass within the existing five-fish combined bass limit, effective for three years and subject to review after one.
The decision, which closely followed the earlier discussions covered by The Log in February, represents a hard-fought balance between preserving a fishery that’s iconic to Southern California and responding to scientific uncertainty about the species’ population dynamics. Commissioner Eric Sklar, attending despite a painful ankle injury, cast the deciding vote, ensuring a quorum in a meeting that nearly didn’t happen due to multiple absences on the five-member panel.
For many, barred sand bass are more than just a species — they are a rite of passage. “Anyone who has grown up in Southern California or just started fishing in our area has a love for catching sand bass,” said Donna Kalez, co-owner of Dana Wharf Sportfishing, who attended the meeting alongside fellow advocates from the Sportfishing Association of California (SAC) and Coastal Conservation Association of California (CCA-Cal). “It’s the fish we all caught for the first time, the gateway fish. I could never imagine a closure for that fish, and I will continue [my father’s] legacy by introducing kids to fishing.”
Indeed, barred sand bass have long held a nostalgic place in the hearts of anglers. Whether caught from a sportfishing boat, a pier, or the jetty, they represent an accessible and exciting opportunity for anglers of all ages and experience levels. For Southern California’s sportfishing industry — particularly charter operators — sand bass are also a vital seasonal staple, drawing families, tourists, and longtime anglers alike during the summer months when these fish congregate to spawn on nearshore flats.
This seasonal spawning behavior is at the heart of ongoing debates about management. Environmental advocates have supported the idea of closing sand bass fishing during the summer, when the fish school up and are easiest to catch. That outcome was avoided this time around, but concerns remain about the adequacy of available science. As Commissioner Samantha Murray stated, “We need better data,” and her colleague Erika Zavaleta voted against the final motion, favoring a more restrictive two-fish summer limit instead.
A major challenge for fisheries managers is understanding the true size and structure of the sand bass population, particularly because it’s believed to be a “mixing stock” with a core population likely residing in northern Baja California. While there is strong local data from within California waters dating back to the early 2000s, fishery experts and longtime captains agree that more scientific effort is needed to confirm the relationship between sand bass caught here and those seen off the Mexican coast.
To that end, CDFW, working with SAC skippers, CCA-Cal representatives, and marine scientists, has proposed several new studies. These include a DNA-based “kinship” analysis and an otolith microchemistry project to assess the relatedness of sand bass populations across borders. A cooperative length-frequency study is also in the works, focusing on measuring sand bass of all sizes — including those released — to better understand what’s out there. “When the science does not match what fishermen are seeing, we need to trust them and work together to gather more information,” said Kalez.
Importantly, stakeholders are also pushing for a forward-looking tagging study that, for the first time, would include tagging and recovery in Mexican waters. SAC has received early support from the Baja California Secretary of Fisheries and scientists in Ensenada for this cross-border effort. While the Southern California Bight hasn’t seen a major sand bass influx in more than 20 years, reports from Baja suggest their numbers may be building — raising the possibility of another episodic boom heading north.
Until more data emerges, local experts stress that the resident SoCal sand bass population shows limited migratory movement. Most fish travel only short distances to bait-rich flats during the spawning season, and only a subset appear to participate in spawning at all. Because smaller sand bass (less than 10 inches) are typically missed in surveys, researchers are now pushing for studies that target recruitment in coastal bays and harbors — critical nursery habitats that may hold the key to long-term population health.
For the Southern California fishing community, the April decision represents not just a regulatory win but a powerful example of grassroots involvement. “Through emails, letters, Zooms, and lots of meetings, we let our voices respectfully be heard,” said Kalez. “We should be allowed to continue to fish for sand bass, a beloved fishery for all the Southern California communities.”
Kalez credited a wide coalition of supporters, including elected officials such as Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley, Assemblymembers Diane Dixon and Laurie Davies, State Senator Tony Strickland, and the mayors of Dana Point, San Clemente, and Oceanside, for backing the effort with letters to the Commission. She also extended thanks to SAC President Ken Franke, CDFW’s Dr. Craig Shuman, and fellow advocates Brian Woolley, Jaime Diamond, Merit McCrea, and others. “Fishermen take from the ocean only what they need. We are careful stewards of the resource, and we are teaching the next generation how to do the same,” she said.
As the 2025 summer season approaches, Southern California anglers can look forward to another season of chasing sand bass — knowing that the fight to preserve this fishery was fought not just with science, but with heart.
