120-Day Ban on Croaker Takes Effect Today
Starting today, commercial fishermen who catch white croaker off the Palos Verdes Peninsula will face penalties of up to $1,000 and six months in jail.
The state Office of Administrative Law on Tuesday approved a 120-day emergency ban on commercial harvesting of the fish in the state waters from Point Vicente south to Point Fermin. John Smith, chief counsel for the administrative law office, said the measure would take effect today.
The state Department of Fish and Game proposed the prohibition following the release of a state study showing that white croaker in that area pose an unacceptable cancer risk to those who eat the fish regularly.
DDT and PCB chemicals were discharged through the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts’ sewage outfalls off White Point in the 1950s, ‘60s and early ‘70s, contaminating ocean sediment where white croaker feed.
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