The 2026 recreational Pacific halibut fishery will open Wednesday, April 1 and remain open until the season ends Nov. 15 north of Point Arena (38°57.5 N. Latitude) and Dec. 31 south of Point Arena, or until the quota is reached, whichever occurs first. The 2026 Pacific halibut quota for the California sport fishery is 40,040 pounds — approximately the same amount as last year.
The Pacific halibut opening date for waters off California this year aligns with the April 1 opening date for all-depth recreational boat-based fishing for many groundfish species statewide, including rockfish, lingcod, cabezon and greenlings. Anglers are always advised to check for updated information when planning a Pacific halibut fishing trip.
Season dates, bag/possession limits and gear restrictions can be found on CDFW's Pacific halibut web page.
Groundfish fishing regulations can be found on CDFW's Summary of Recreational Groundfish Fishing Regulations page.
Public notification of any in-season change to regulations is made through the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Pacific halibut hotline at (800) 662-9825 or CDFW's Groundfish and Pacific halibut Regulations Hotline at (831) 649-2801.
Annual state regulations for Pacific halibut automatically conform to federal regulations set by NMFS using the process described in Section 1.95(b)(2), Title 14, California Code of Regulations. Federal regulations for Pacific halibut were published in the Federal Register (91 FR 14464) on March 25, 2026, and became effective March 12.
Persons with disabilities needing reasonable accommodation to participate in public meetings or other CDFW activities are invited to contact CDFW's Accessibility Coordinator in the CRO Office at (916) 902-5577, or send an email to CivilRights@wildlife.ca.gov. Reasonable Accommodation requests for facility and/or meeting accessibility should be received at least 21 days prior to the event. Requests for American Sign Language Interpreters should be submitted at least two weeks prior to the event, and requests for Real-Time Captioning at least four weeks prior to the event. These timeframes are to help ensure that the requested accommodation is met. If a request for an accommodation has been submitted but due to circumstances is no longer needed, please contact the Accessibility Coordinator immediately.