Why isn there a minimum size limit on sport-caught rockfish?
A. Many rockfish species will not survive if caught in deep water and returned to the ocean. Because of changes in internal pressure after the fish is hooked and retrieved from great depths, there is physical trauma to the gas bladder and other internal organs. Minimum size limits would not be an effective management tool for most species of rockfish because of this reason. Bocaccio have a minimum size limit of 10 inches to protect juvenile fish that are sometimes caught in large numbers in shallow water by pier and shore-based anglers in central and northern California.
