Lines of baited hooks run vertically or horizontally along the ocean floor. Incidental deaths Sharks, skates and diving birds, but apparently not in large numbers. Regulation Long-line is banned within a mile of shore on weekends and holidays from Eureka to San Mateo County. More than 150 hooks per boat is illegal along most of the coast. The hook and line fishery is expected to grow.
Gear is relatively cheap and demand for near-shore fish is high.
State biologists see a crisis looming but say they don't have adequate information to set new restrictions. Trawling Funnel-shaped nets catch the greatest amount of popular seafood such as sole and shrimp. Sonar and nets drag sea Schools of fish or shrimp are targeted using sonar. Nets are dropped and towed along the ocean floor, skimmed within two feet of the ocean floor or pulled mid-water. Nearly all animals caught in trawl nets die.