Creel Quick answer: The Southern Region runs Point Conception to the Mexico border and takes in Santa Barbara, Ventura, Long Beach, Dana Point, San Diego. CDFW publishes 30 species regulations for it. As of September 7, 2026, 20 are open, 7 are partially closed and 3 are closed, and the region contains 62 Marine Protected Areas and special closures. Limits here are not the same as the region next door, which is the single most common reason people get cited.
What's open in the Southern Region
Read off CDFW's regional pages on September 7, 2026. Seasons change in-season and with days of notice, so treat this as a snapshot and confirm before you keep anything.
| Species | Status | Bag limit | Size limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cabezon | Partial | 10 fish in combination per person, except: Copper rockfish: 1 fish per person Vermilion/sunset rockfish: 4 fish per person combined in Northern Management Area 2 fish per person combined in all other areas Canary rockfish: 2 fish per person | All Rockfish: No minimum size limit Cabezon and Greenlings: No minimum size limit |
| California Grunion | Open | 30 fish daily | — |
| California Halibut | Open | 5 fish daily | 22-inch minimum |
| California Scorpionfish | Open | 5 fish daily | — |
| California Sheephead | Open | 2 fish daily | 12-inch minimum |
| Clams | Partial | — | — |
| Giant Sea Bass | Closed | — | — |
| Groupers | Partial | 10 fish daily | — |
| Kelp | Open | — | — |
| Kelp Bass, Barred Sand Bass, Spotted Sand Bass | Open | 5 fish daily | 14-inch minimum |
| Kelp Greenling, Rock Greenling | Partial | 10 fish in combination per person, except: Copper rockfish: 1 fish per person Vermilion/sunset rockfish: 4 fish per person combined in Northern Management Area 2 fish per person combined in all other areas Canary rockfish: 2 fish per person | All Rockfish: No minimum size limit Cabezon and Greenlings: No minimum size limit |
| Leopard Shark | Open | 3 fish daily | 36-inch minimum |
| Lingcod | Partial | 2 fish per person | 22" total length |
| Mussels | Partial | 10 pounds daily | — |
| Ocean Salmon | Open | 2 fish daily | 20-inch minimum |
| Ocean Whitefish | Open | 10 fish daily | — |
| Other Federally Managed Groundfish | Open | — | — |
| Other Species | Open | — | — |
| Pacific Herring | Open | — | — |
| Pacific Sanddab | Open | — | — |
| Petrale Sole and Starry Flounder | Open | — | — |
| Red Abalone | Closed | — | — |
| Rock Crab | Open | 35 crab daily | 4-inch minimum |
| Rockfish | Partial | 10 fish in combination per person, except: Copper rockfish: 1 fish per person Vermilion/sunset rockfish: 4 fish per person combined in Northern Management Area 2 fish per person combined in all other areas Canary rockfish: 2 fish per person | All Rockfish: No minimum size limit Cabezon and Greenlings: No minimum size limit |
| Sharks (State-managed) | Open | 1 fish daily | — |
| Spiny Lobster | Closed | — | — |
| Surfperch | Open | 20 fish daily | 10½-inch minimum |
| Tunas | Open | — | — |
| White Seabass | Open | 3 fish daily | 28-inch minimum |
| Yellowtail | Open | 10 fish daily | 24-inch minimum |
Why the region matters more than the species
California splits its ocean into six management regions, and the same fish carries different numbers in each. California halibut is five fish a day in the Central and Southern regions and two in the four northern ones. Rockfish stays open at all depths through December in the north while the Southern Region closes on October 1. Nothing on the water marks where one region ends and the next begins.
That is what the 62 Marine Protected Areas in this region compound: their boundaries are coordinates in Title 14, not lines you can see, and the rules inside them override everything in the table above.
The other five regions
- Northern Region — Oregon border to Cape Mendocino (40°10′ N)
- Mendocino Region — Cape Mendocino to Point Arena (38°57′ N)
- San Francisco Region — Point Arena to Pigeon Point (37°11′ N), ocean coast
- SF Bay Region — San Francisco Bay proper
- Central Region — Pigeon Point to Point Conception (34°27′ N)
This page is a snapshot taken on September 7, 2026. Creel re-reads every CDFW regional page daily and shows the current status for your region offline, which is the version to trust on the water. Always confirm with CDFW before fishing.